Only in Dreams
by ohthewarmth
Summary: Adrian can't help but visit Rose in her dreams, and the more he does the more she’s drawn to his charm. Will Rose have the strength to resist him once tragedy strikes and the things they love most are taken away?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So I'm going to be writing a few dream sequences based off of the events that take place during "Shadow Kiss." I love Dimitri/Rose together, but there's something about Adrian's determination that I just can't resist. Plus, Adrian is more my type. This will be updated as soon as I can. I would love some reviews if you're willing to take the time to do it. I just want to know if it's something you'd like to read more of or if it's a bust. Happy Easter!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing; Richelle Mead owns it all.

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Rose walked carelessly through a dead field of corn. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen a field like this, but she'd seen similar ones when they were living among the humans. That was when it hit her, this wasn't like her normal dreams and she knew instantly that it was one of Adrian's. She'd had such a headache on the plane and now that she was asleep he still wouldn't leave her alone. She took a few steps further into the field and felt his familiar hand grasp her wrist, pulling her toward him.

"My little Dhampir," he mused drunkenly into her hair.

"Ugh, as if my head wasn't hurting bad enough on its own," Rose moved out of his grasp and turned around to face him. "Why do you keep doing this Adrian?"

"You know the answer to that Rose, why do you resist." He stepped forward to close the gap between them. "It just makes me want you more."

She sighed heavily. "See Adrian, that's all you want. Even if I said I liked you for just one minute, all you would want to do with me is have sex and then once you got that over with you'd leave me to go find someone else to exploit."

He moved and took her face in the palms of both of his hands, "this is not true my love. You have bewitched me body and soul."

"I've seen Pride and Prejudice," she said sarcastically.

"So it's still true, I think of you constantly. You and your dark clouds, I want to take them away from you. Your safety is my constant concern, even as I work on Spirit with Lisa I think of you." His voice was like velvet as it worked its way into her ears.

"I'm bound to her Adrian; even if you wanted me as your guardian I couldn't leave her, I wouldn't have the heart to." She couldn't believe herself as she listened to her own words. Rose had spent too much time around Adrian even if it wasn't all that much. He was starting to work on her in ways that she didn't even want to consider.

Adrian smiled, "maybe I just don't want you as a guardian. Would it be so hard to think that maybe I want you to be something else?" He leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. The taste of vodka lingered for just a moment; it was strong against her taste buds as she opened her mouth for just a moment. What she did mind was the kiss once she'd come back to herself, as much as Adrian's words had worked on her she couldn't forget about Dimitri.

Rose moved away quickly and scowled over at him, "please tell me you didn't just do that."

He smiled but she could tell he was slightly defeated. "Are my kisses so repulsive to you Rose?"

She sighed, "no but you know how I feel."

"About your pedophile boyfriend, yes I'm aware of that. I'm not going to give up, so you might as well get used to it."

Rose felt her clothes change instantly. Looking down Rose gazed down at the very black dress that Adrian had described earlier. It was beyond beautiful; or rather, what she could see of it was beautiful she wasn't sure how it looked on her but she was sure it looked as good as it felt. She brought her fingers up and traced the lace that lined the dress as it lay pristinely against her skin.

"Do you like it?" he asked as he flicked his wrist, sweeping away the field and procuring his grandmother's garden that they had visited once before.

"It's a bit much don't you think?" she replied lying.

"Nope, not at all, I actually think it looks quite lovely on you. Besides I saw how you looked at it and I know deep down you like it too."

Rose laughed, "You think you know everything don't you?"

"I don't think, I know." He motioned to an empty gazebo in the center of the garden where he escorted her to sit. Adrian's face grew serious as he moved to sit across from her, "this isn't why I've come here to be with you Rose."

"Then why have you?" she asked feeling a slight bit nervous as she rubbed the inside of her palm. It wasn't like her to feel nervous, but her head was hurting so bad she could still feel it in her dream.

"It's your headache. Lisa couldn't fix you and that's unusual from what I've been able to gather through our talks."

"How very astute of you," she replied nonchalantly.

"I'm being serious Rose."

She sighed, "I can see that Adrian and I don't know what to tell you."

"Do you get them often?"

"No, not usually, this is one of the worst I think I've ever had."

He stood and paced the wooden floor, "I get so worried about you Rose. So worried it nearly drives me crazy. Your aura…"

"Not that nonsense again," she sighed.

"Let me finish, your aura it's so dark and today it practically looked like you were a hurricane waiting to happen."

His uneasiness was making her head hurt even more than it already was. Gently, she placed her head against the banister that ran the length of the bench. Adrian came and sat beside her, "I promise you I'll find out what all this means."

"Oh there's no doubt in my mind."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, resting his hand upon her head. "I'll fix you, I know I can. Wake up, we're here."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** I would like to thank you all for the kind reviews that you bestowed upon Chapter 1. It was nice to see some positive remarks and gave me the courage to write more. This chapter is set between 19 and 20 of "Shadow Kiss." Reviews are lovely but not necessary. Eventually this will expand and become more than just dreams, but for now that's all you'll get. ;)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing; Richelle Mead owns this world.

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**Chapter 2**

After leaving the chapel with Christian, they made it back to the dorm room where Lissa and Eddie were waiting patiently on them. Allowing them a few minutes alone in a spare closet, Rose and Eddie stood out in the hallway observing their surroundings.

Eddie broke the silence first, "Thanks for earlier."

Rose shrugged, "Don't mention it Eddie…really. It's not something that I enjoy thinking about, but I guess I'm going to have to get used to talking about it in therapy and all." Her voice faded as she soon lost herself in her own thoughts. Not only did Mason's face haunt her waking hours, but also in her dreams and as much as she wished she could forget him, she couldn't. A part of her felt like she shouldn't be allowed to since it was her fault he had been killed in the first place.

"Yeah, sure thing Rose," Eddie replied as he began pacing the floor to stay awake.

Christian and Lissa finished soon enough to the relief of both their guardians. Rose could feel through the bond that as excited as Lissa was with what they'd just done, she felt a bit embarrassed having to be waited on since they both she and Eddie knew what they had been doing. Rose hugged her and wished her a good night as she watched Eddie escort her over to her dorms. Christian ran an absent hand through his hair as he leaned against the wall pretending to catch his breath.

"Is there really nothing for me to worry about with her and Adrian?" He asked her casually as though he'd just asked her what day of the week it was.

"If you have to ask me that after what you both just did Christian, you'll never believe me not matter what I tell you."

He smiled, "true enough."

They walked silently back to his room where she reluctantly looked at the makeshift bed on the floor. They changed into their pajamas and were both fast asleep before either one could have counted to twenty.

Rose wasn't surprised when she found herself sitting in the same gazebo she'd been in several nights before. Adrian was becoming a constant in her dreams and as much as she acted as though she didn't like it, she didn't like lying to herself either. Adrian had been able to resist the desire to assist her through the whole ordeal on the plane, but they both knew he wasn't strong enough to resist her now, which was why she wasn't surprised to find him here.

Rose was wearing the same black dress he'd imagined her in the last time they'd meet in her dreams, and as he strode over to her in a tailored pin-stripped suit and tie something inside her flipped. "Hello my little Dhampir," he purred as she stood to greet him. He laughed, "Your manners are more than I could have asked for my love, but please do sit down."

He took the seat beside her and compelled her to look at him, "Why didn't you tell someone before now?"

Rose felt guilty as she spoke, "please don't do this. I expected it earlier when I told the lot of you but not now I'm just tired."

"I know your boyfriend was worried on the plane, and when he couldn't do anything about it made it all the worse for him. Alberta was screaming at him to do something but he wouldn't move. Do you know what that was like to watch? I couldn't do anything either because if I had I could have made it worse, worse on you and the rumors going around school, worse on what you were experiencing. I didn't know what to do, because I didn't know what I could do for you or to you if I got too close."

Rose placed a comforting hand on his back, "I'm ok now though, see." She stretched out her hands and smiled brightly at him.

"You can't lie to me Rose, I see your darkness and I saw what happened when Lissa used her magic earlier."

Rose looked defeated. "Adrian, I can't even put a name on what's wrong with me other than what Victor's told me about myself. How much stock can I put into that? I'm not sure anymore. At first I thought it was a joke, but now I just don't know."

"Did he say something to you while you were at Court?"

"He just said the usual stuff about how I'm shadow kissed, which was why Lissa and I were looking into some old Moroi legends about this guy and his guardian who shared a bond similar to ours. Nothing ever came of it though," she definitely did not want to tell him the whole truth about either of those topics. Doing so would mean something far too serious for her to acknowledge between them. Besides the fact that if she confided in him completely it would mean that she would have to tell him of Anna's eventual demise, which didn't seem appropriate given their current situation.

"You should tell me more about this next time I see you, not now though we never have enough time." He captured her face in his hand, "I wish to see you outside of your dreams the way we are here."

Rose frowned, "you're always drunk when we're together or smoking or just down right arrogant. I never know what to do with you Adrian; you're constantly grating my nerves."

"I know you're lying Rose, I can feel it."

"What do you mean you can feel it?" She asked curiously.

He shrugged pressing his forehead against hers. His lips were mere inches away from hers as he spoke, "It's hard to explain, but I can just tell. Your energy changes, just like now, much in the same way your aura does." Adrian smiled his trademark grin, and then tilted his head in to kiss her. It was innocent at first but the longer it went on the more she wanted more. She leaned into him, pressing more of her body against him running her fingers through his perfectly manicured hair.

The more she wanted it, the more he gave to her. Why had she resisted him for so long? So what if the Queen didn't want her to be with him, he obviously liked her and he was an awfully great kisser. _But not the best one you've ever had_. Rose thought half-heartedly as to who was the best kisser she'd ever experienced, when thoughts of Dimitri came floating back to her mind. As soon as his name came to mind, it was as if someone had dowsed her with a bucket of ice-cold water.

Rose instantly let go of Adrian and pulled away from him, her lips swollen and red from his kisses. "I can't do this," she finally managed once she'd caught her breath. Adrian seemed heartbroken but took it in stride, "One day my love. You'll see what I've known since we meet."

He stood to get up and she reached out and grabbed his wrist pulling him back to face her. "Please don't leave yet."

Adrian looked puzzled, "don't you want to sleep like you usually do? Forgive me for being confused, but you're usually kicking me out right about now, not asking me to stay."

"That's what I'm doing isn't it, you said so yourself before. I'm sleeping and this is all a dream." She smiled and moved over once more to allow him to sit beside her.

"Rose I really…"

"Please Adrian, don't leave." She was practically begging him to stay now. After everything that had happened that day she didn't want to be alone, but wasn't strong enough to admit it to anyone but him. The Queen had been right when she said that Adrian needed to move on to better things, so did Lissa. Soon enough she'd have to give up her life to guarding Lissa, whatever that meant, and if she could spend a few nights alone with Adrian in her mind before doing it was good enough for her.

Adrian resumed his seat beside her, "I'm more than happy to if it's what you want."

Rose rested her head on his shoulder as her clothes changed instantly to the pajamas that she had put on when she'd went to bed. "Do you think we could go somewhere where there's a little more room?"

They ended up in a spacious room with a wall of windows overlooking the most beautiful mountain scene she had ever seen in her life. The floor was covered in pillows and blankets until it drew near the fireplace that popped loudly as she glanced into its fiery depths. "Where are we?" she asked curiously, smiling over at him.

"We're in the French alps. This is actually a townhouse that I own and believe me, the minute you tell me you want to come here, I'll bring you without fail." Rose watched him more closely. Adrian was reclining against one of the mounds of pillows flicking his fingers around the way he did when he wanted a cigarette. Resisting it no longer, Rose grabbed a blanket and cuddled up beside him, "I trust you will."

Rose closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of his shirt rustling against the inside of her jacket as he breathed. "Don't you want to change into your pajamas?" She asked loosening his tie.

"You don't want to see what I sleep in little Dhampir."

"I mean it can't be any worse than what I've got on; I mean honestly did you see these." She pulled at her tank top and cotton pants emphasizing the lack of extravagance that she had when it came to picking out clothes.

"Trust me love, I know what I'm saying."

She laughed, "What do you sleep in bunny pants with ears on the feet?"

He growled slightly, "You wish it were that tame, I sleep in the nude."

There was something almost primal in the way he'd said it; something Rose would have never imagined him sounding like. She instantly stopped laughing, "Oh…well yeah then that's good since you know I don't really want to see you naked."

"You're lying to me again Rose."

She pinched his arm, "Stop that."

"I'm just keeping you honest."

She laughed again, and was surprised when he joined in with her. After some time, they simply laid there silently overlooking all that their eyes could see. She'd asked him to elaborate on his family and he did for a while but he seemed like he didn't want to talk about them much tonight. He had asked what his Aunt had really said to her when they meet in her chambers but she'd changed the subject. There was nothing like telling a boy that his Great Aunt, who just happened to be Queen of the Moroi, didn't want him seeing one of the few people he liked to start a family fight big enough to cause rifts.

"Why did you want me to stay with you tonight little Dhampir," he asked finally getting to the main question he'd been waiting to ask.

She hesitated for a while before finally answering him. "Because I'm scared to be alone Adrian."

The concern in his eyes was multiplied ten fold as she answered him finally. "I told you I'd be here for you Rose. I can take you away from all of this, from guarding, from the Strigoi, from the ghosts all of it."

Tears filled her eyes, "but I don't think you can. I don't think anyone can."

Adrian kissed her cheek, lapping up a stray, salty tear. "You have to wake up now Rose, I love you."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** This is where it changes. I hope you like it, thanks for the wonderful reviews all of you. I hope you like the change. I'm nervous but I'm hoping it goes over well. Let me know what you think. It's different than the book, so be ready.

**Disclaimer:** I own none of this, Richelle Mead owns it all.

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**Chapter 3**

From the moment she'd woke up, till the minute she fell back asleep Rose had been on guard, fighting the strigoi who had broken into the school's grounds and started killing the royals. Rose had killed so many of them. Strigoi everywhere seemed too want to kill her personally but their fight wasn't enough to stop her as she went on her way. Rose felt like she was the only one doing anything and as Christian helped her distract the strigoi with his fire she killed even more of them than she would have without his help. Guardians from all over were flying in, but it seemed too difficult to fly the students out.

When Dr. Olendzki finally forced her to rest she slipped into a fitful sleep.

"Do you sleep all the time now, just waiting for me to fall asleep?" She yelled out into the open air. A beach lay before her with waves crashing against the shore as if there were a storm off the coast. She sat down waiting for him but it took him a while to appear.

"Calmed down yet my little Dhampir?"

She looked up at him, "No, they're everywhere I can feel them even in my sleep. It's such a creepy feeling I don't even know how to describe it. Why won't they let me go fight?"

"Because there's no point right now, you're exhausted can't you feel it?"

Rose simply shook her head, she couldn't feel it. Only a little and even with that she could probably have worked around it. "I just want to get out there and fight with everyone else."

"No one else is fighting Rose, they're regrouping." As he came and sat down beside her he spoke once more, "This doesn't just affect you, you know that don't you?"

She really looked at him for the first time since he'd come to see her. He did look tired, black circles plagued his eyes but she'd figured he'd just been drinking. "What does it feel like for you?" She asked trying to show some genuine interest in what he was feeling.

The moment she asked him it was as if his eyes glossed over, "it's just so much sadness. I can't go anywhere without feeling it…so I've been self-medicating." He smiled over at her once he'd said this. "You're not sleeping deep enough for me to stay and I'm sure you're not going to be sleeping much longer anyways, but I wanted to check on you. I've not been able to find my guardian so I've locked myself in my room for now. You will find me once the threat of all of this is all over won't you?"

"Of course I will," Rose woke with those words. Lissa was sitting on the bed beside her as Dimitri stood watch at the door. It was just the three of them now, just like it would be for the rest of their lives. Always fighting, but always protecting each other from whatever dangers lied ahead.

"Rose, you shouldn't be up yet." Lissa pleaded.

Rose felt the effects of compulsion beginning to work on her body, she stood up and tried to mentally shake off the affects that it would have on her. "Don't do that, please not now."

Lissa looked saddened but complied. Rose walked over to Dimitri and tried to get a report from him over what all had happened since she'd been asleep.

"I'm not sure what I can tell you Roza since they haven't told me much since we came here." His words were like butter, melting over her. She leaned against him unashamed of who might see as he wrapped a protective arm around her for support.

"How many have died?" She asked as the ghosts that walked the halls shown bigger and brighter than ever before.

"Too many," he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I don't know how the school will recover from such an attack."

"They're getting too powerful, there were so many of them banded together. How do they keep doing this?"

"Through tactical skills my precious," a figure stood at the end of the hallway. Rose looked behind her to make sure Lissa was okay. She had no weapons; they'd taken them from her when they forced her to lie down.

"Shit!" she replied as she walked into the room. "Lissa I'm going to need you to stay calm alright."

Lissa looked confused, "What are you talking about Rose? I am calm why would I need to stay calm?"

"Because there's a strigoi in the hallway and I just need you be safe alright? There's also the fact that I don't have a weapon."

"But surely Guardian Belikov does?"

Rose nodded, "but we don't know how many of them there are. So stay safe while we take care of it alright?"

Lissa nodded and began scouring the room for something to protect herself with. "Lissa and if you get a chance call someone for help."

When Rose got back into the hall with Dimitri there were twelve of them. _Where had they all come from?_ _Where were the other guards?_ Panic filled her as she stood there weaponless and ready.

They moved closer as a pack, Dimitri placed an extra silver blade into her hand. "I love you Roza," he replied before making his first move.

Watching him fight was one of the most fascinating things anyone could watch in their entire life. Three of them got past him and came at Rose. She struck out at them killing one, then two, and then the last. A pair of hands grabbed onto her from behind and started dragging her down the hall. "What the…" she planted her feet in the ground and pulled herself out of its grasp. "Don't you ever touch me," she screamed as she jumped on him killing the thing that had tried to hold her captive.

Rose looked around, Dimitri seemed to be holding his own and she scanned the surrounding area for more strigoi. Lissa screamed from the room behind them and as Rose moved to respond a part of her knew it wasn't going to be enough. Lissa's fear was too great for it to be a single strigoi, and she was right. As much as Lissa was trying to fight against them with her magic they were too much. One of them held onto her as another leaned in to bite her. Rose lunged for him but she wasn't fast enough for once. He leaned in and clamped down on her neck, ripping a hole in her throat as he did. He turned around and looked at Rose, immobilized by the fear Rose stopped fighting him. He spat the blood out of his mouth onto her, yet she couldn't move.

Six strigoi filled the room and as Lissa's body fell to the floor in an all too familiar dead thump, Rose couldn't move to get away. Dimitri entered the room having finished off the strigoi in the hallway. He stood behind her protectively but he was injured.

"We've been able to accomplish what we wanted to do, killing the princess was just good fun. Surely you understand Guardians?"

One of the women among the group came at Rose but she didn't block. Dimitri threw her to the ground and took the brunt of her attack. The female strigoi managed to grab hold of his neck and break it in mere seconds. The life left his eyes as he fell on top of her. A mountain of a man brought down but the stupidity of the world around him. Rose was able to crawl out from under him as the strigoi had another force to fight with. The other guardians had finally made it but it was too late. Everything was gone that meant anything in this world.

It seemed the strigoi had called for reinforcements too because once again there were so many of them, and Lissa was gone and Dimitri was gone and she just wanted to let go. She looked around at the guardians that had finally come and noticed that Adrian was there and Rose couldn't hold on, she didn't want to. One of them came at her but her mother killed it before it had a chance to get to her. "Rose you have to leave. Go with Mr. Ivashkov and his guardian, they'll protect you now."

"I can't…" she was just standing there amongst the wreckage looking around panicked.

Her mother slapped her across the face hard enough to bring her back to reality, "You will right this minute."

Rose turned around and followed after them. Adrian was in front of her and his guard behind her, they were watching closely but she wasn't. That's when it hit her. One of the strigoi had thrown an abandoned knife into her neck. The blood flowed freely, practically shooting across the room upon impact. She fell to the floor as Dimitri's ghost came kneeling down in front of her. He placed his ghostly hand on her shoulder as if he were waiting for her. She smiled as she saw how happy he looked she'd be joining him soon. The pain was nothing compared to the happiness she felt in that moment. But Dimitri's face was soon replaced by Adrian's as he picked her up and carried her away.

"Don't you die on me Rose, don't you dare die on me."

"Too late," she gurgled causing more blood to rush out of the wound.

"Find me a room damn it. I can't do it here."

Her mind aware of what was going on around her felt comforted by the ghostly figures that surrounded them like a shield. He laid her down on the bed, but she could feel it was too late. Her heart beat less and less and the more he fought the more she faded. He swore loudly cursing anyone who came to mind. There was so much blood, the smell of death clung to her in new unimaginable ways.

"Adrian," she mumbled.

Tears were spilling from his eyes as he looked down at her, "yes little Dhampir?" Once he said it the sobs he'd been holding back came out. He was sobbing right there in front of her and in that moment she finally realized just how much he loved her.

"Let me go."

He shook his head, "I don't know how."

The room faded to black, as did time, space, and everything else around her. Rose faded into the shadow world she'd grown so accustomed to seeing in her waking hours. They welcomed her, embracing her in what felt like a kind and warm caress. She remembered this feeling, remembered what it was like to be dead. Then it happened, she was ripped from them once more and thrown back into her body. They'd removed the knife that had stuck in her neck so snuggly and cleaned up the blood, leaving behind only the tiniest of scars.

Adrian's body was collapsed beside hers; she looked over at him confused. He smiled at her the best he could through the tears. "I did it," he replied before passing out, whether from the alcohol or sheer exhaustion she didn't know. But as her new guardian escorted her back to her room after everything was clear, all she knew was that she was alive again when she should have been dead and that they were gone when they should have been alive.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **So here's Chapter Four. It's not a dream just to make that clarification. Thank you all so much for adding it to your favorites and the reviews. It makes me so happy that you're all enjoying it! Reviews are like the icing on a cake, nice but not necessary.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this, just Cooper.

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Chapter 4

She stared absently for what felt like hours. First at the wall, then at the television that occupied the other side of the hotel room they'd gotten for her so that she could get away from the school. Lissa was gone, as was Dimitri. Two of the most important things in her life were now dead and it'd all been her fault. She couldn't save them. Sure she'd saved so many others, but she hadn't been able to save them. She'd died trying to save them. Their screams haunted her waking nightmares. One guardian she didn't know was standing outside her door doing surveillance. The Queen wanted to see her as soon as possible but they hadn't been able to procure proper transportation yet, so she waited. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her upper body as she just sat there barely breathing. This couldn't be real.

The male guardian, who had been watching the door, finally entered and told her it was time to leave. He'd walked into the room, turned off the television, and walked over to her offering his hand as support. She looked at his out stretched hand, then up to his face. The ghosts whirled around him as she took it and started walking. Rose couldn't even make it to the door before she collapsed to her knees, weak and distraught she began pleading with him. "Don't make me go; I want them to take me. Can't you see them? They're waiting on me, calling my name." She pointed out into the hallway where a family had just walked by but it wasn't them that she had seen. "They're there with them now. Both of them, oh God…" her words were empty yet echoed off the walls as she practically screamed them at him.

"Guardian Hathaway, get a hold of yourself," he urged her. "All you have to do is make it to the car. Once you get there you can cry and shout all you want to. But right now the humans are starting to get anxious and you have somewhere to be."

His words had little if any affect at all; following the tears was a wave hysteria that overcame her as she tried to get up. "What if they're not dead and they've turned? You saw them right? Both of them, they were dead weren't they?"

"Yes Guardian Hathaway, they were both dead. We're bringing their bodies back with us, both of them. Princess Dragomir wished for him to be buried among her family, she knew that you two were close and that if you were going to be buried with her, he might as well be buried with you."

The room was spinning again but this time he caught her, "Someone must have told her. I didn't think she knew."

He picked her up and carried her in his arms, she didn't protest as she glanced longingly at Dimitri's ghost that haunted the hall as they entered the elevator. "It was Mr. Ivashkov I believe ma'am."

Rose took in a deep breath. "You can set me down now; I think I've regained my composure for the moment."Gripping the arm rest that ran the perimeter of the elevator was comforting enough as she stood there focusing on her breathing. She'd died again, of this she was certain. Yet she was here. "Do you know where Mr. Ivashkov is?"

He nodded, "He's waiting for the same flight as us ma'am. He'll be joining you; I think he's going to be the one to carry on the Dragomir name, because they say he was one of her closest living relative."

The rest of their car trip was silent, except for every now and then when Rose would lose her self-composure. The trip to the airport wasn't long but it felt like ages much like everything else did without them. She longed to feel Dimitri's hands wrapped around her shoulders, the comfort that being in Lissa's presence allowed her, or anything than the complete sadness that she was feeling now. When the car stopped and her door opened she stepped out of the car on autopilot. The air strip would be secure. It had to be secure. She couldn't fight, not now, not for a long time. She'd gotten them killed if only she'd been faster, she could have saved them, both of them.

"I'm going to be escorting you back to the Queen Ms. Hathaway. You'll be safe there," replied the guardian who had been with her all this time.

"What's your name?"

"Cooper, Bailey Cooper ma'am," he replied shyly.

"Thank you Cooper, your kindness was more than I expected" and with that she boarded the plane. He wasn't there yet. She needed to see him. If he was still alive he was the only other one besides Rose and Christian to make it. The very ones no one wanted to. The expendable ones, "I should have died. I needed to die; I could have died instead of her or him or both of them for that matter. They could both be alive now while it would be me they were getting ready to put in the ground."

The ghosts were there again, pressing down on her. Lissa sat in the empty seat beside her, trying to press her hand down into Rose's. They rarely touched her, but Lissa was and she could feel it. Thousands of unshed tears came out in droves, silent tears that shook her down to the core. _I want to die_, she thought to herself pleading with Lissa to take her. She shook her head in disagreement and began mouthing something inaudible. _I wish I knew what you were saying, I miss you so much._

Lissa looked away and Rose's attention shifted from her ghastly friend to the frame filling the door way. It was an extremely hollowed looking Adrian Ivashkov. Much of the boyish youth that had once plagued his presence was gone; the circles under his eyes mirrored the ones she knew must have been on her face as well. She wiped away a few stray tears that had escaped since his entrance and as he waited for the flight attendant to fix his drink, Rose stole one last look at Lissa. She mouthed something that Rose was barely able to make out or at least she thought she had. _I love you,_ and as she felt one more tiny squeeze on her hand the ghosts were gone.

Adrian drank it in one big gulp and asked her to fix him another when she got a chance. Turning to walk down the aisle he nodded in her direction as he took a seat a few rows in front of her. The sting of his actions surprised her as she sat there. Rose wanted him to walk over and sit beside her, to tell her everything was going to be okay like he'd done so many times before, but then she guessed things weren't going to be okay. Her headache raged on but the ghosts didn't return. Come to find out Christian had already taken an earlier flight back to Pennsylvania to meet with the Queen on the events that had unfolded. He'd been an amazing asset during the fights and seemed like he wanted to continue fighting with magic as a way to make amends for Lissa's death since he hadn't been there. Rose was surprised that he was willing to do so much for Lissa, but she would have done the same if their roles were reversed. The flight was long and boring. Adrian still hadn't come back to see her and she felt as though she had no tears left to cry, at least not then anyways. So she stood and walked up to where he was sitting.

"Hey." She said, standing there like an idiot instead of just sitting down beside him with or without an invitation.

"Hey," he replied back stirring the amber liquid that occupied his cup.

"Can I sit down?"

He motioned with his hand, "it's a free country isn't it?"

She sat down beside him, wringing her hands in her lap as she waited for him to say something. He never did. They landed within hours and stepped out onto the tarmac. The one good thing about being at the palace meant that the ghosts couldn't haunt her. The wards were too strong even for the strigoi to break. Adrian had practically jumped the seat in front of him to get out of the plane before her, and as Cooper escorted her to her room she felt overwhelmed with a feeling of sheer abandonment. She never realized how much she'd needed Adrian until now, and now that he wasn't there…now that no one was there, what else was left but to just let go?

Cooper opened the door and examined the room. "I'll be working as your guardian for a while."

"Do they really think I need one?"

He nodded, "You've gained the attention of every Strigoi in the world, whether you wanted to or not. You've practically placed yourself in the same league as the Queen herself although I'd never admit it to anyone but you."

"Oh, so will I always have Guardians from now on?"

He didn't know, but he did seem to be under the impression that it wasn't going to change anytime soon since he'd been officially assigned to her after the death of his charge. Rose was okay with that, she'd always enjoyed the company of other Guardians and it seemed like a nice way to have someone around.

"Queen Tatiana will see you after dinner; she's been taking care of a few arrangements at the castle this afternoon and has prior arrangements for dinner. I'm sure you understand?"

Rose nodded, "of course."

"You should rest; you look like you should get some sleep. I'll be right outside if you'd like, or I can stay here?"

She laughed, "Thanks for not saying I look like shit. You can stay in here and watch the television, I doubt I'll sleep much anyways and the noise soothes me."

"Oh before I forget, Mr. Ivashkov asked me to relay a message to you when we got to your room."

Rose who had been in the middle of taking off her shoes stopped and looked at him intently, "what did he have to say?"

"Not much other than that he was sorry, he just couldn't today."

She looked confused, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you might know, but those were his exactly words. He didn't talk to you once you went to sit beside him, maybe that has something to do with it?"

Rose sighed, "You noticed that?"

"It's my job to notice those things Guardian Hathaway."

"That's my mom, I'm just Rose."

He laughed a single happy sound, "I think you've surpassed your mom in rank now." His laugh had filled the room, but hadn't been enough to bring a smile to her face.

"Maybe, but I don't think I'm ready to be Guardian Hathaway yet, I just need a break."

"Anyone would if they were in your shoes Rose," he took the bed beside hers and grabbed the remote control. He seemed young, but looked deadly. Cooper was cute, but that didn't matter. He'd probably find some Moroi girl to get pregnant and have little Dhampir babies with, something that would make Rose happy in the end. All she wanted was Lissa and Dimitri back, and Adrian here with her. To hold her, to cry with her, she wondered if he cried. He looked like he'd been crying, and a part of her knew she'd seen him crying before.

Rose waited until Cooper had fallen asleep, it'd been a long day and once he'd settled in she knew it would be too hard for him to resist the fingers of sleep. She went into the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror. The florescent lighting made her look even paler and gaunt than she already was. Opening the drawers she found an array of toiletries, zooming in on the razor she pulled it out carefully. Attached to the end was a disposable head. Pulling it off she carefully took it apart with a pair of scissors she'd found in a sewing kit.

As she brought the razor to the inside of her leg she dug down deep to make the pain stop. Scarlet red blood spilled onto the floor. She could feel the blood oozing out of her body as it dripped down her leg. Her eyes grew weaker and she set the razor down on the counter. _So this is what it feels like?_ She thought to herself as the world slowly faded away from her reality. There was a banging on the door and she heard Cooper get up to answer it, yells were coming in from the hallway but she couldn't quite make them out. Part of her wanted them to be from Dimitri but she knew that wasn't the case. "Where is she?" He demanded opening the door to the bathroom.

"Damn it!" He yelled as he pushed Cooper back against the wall. "I should have you reassigned!" He screamed, why was he screaming it wasn't like anything serious was going on. She opened her eyes and looked down at the floor. There was so much blood…maybe she'd cut too deep?

Adrian came back over to her, "Rose? Rose!" He grabbed my shoulders and shook her till she looked at him.

"Ugh, what?"

"What have you done?" His grasp became tighter and just as it had felt when the blood left her leg, the same oozing feeling happened when the blood went back into her leg. The wound healed and the strong hands that had been clasped around her arms soon let go as he collapsed into her lap. "Please don't do that again."

Rose moved to sit in the floor with him, pressing her back against the bathtub as she cradled him in her arms, "I can't promise you that Adrian."

"Lie to me then," he replied.

"I can't lie to you, I haven't the heart." She squeezed him tightly against her, as if holding onto him was the only thing keeping her on the ground. "What am I going to do?"

"Keep living, they would want you too."

She looked down at him, "why are you so sad? I can understand being upset over Lissa, but you're uncharacteristically sad."

He looked up at her, "because you're upset. I'm not sure how it's worked out that way but it has, I feel everything you're feeling and then some."

"Adrian?" She spoke softly. She was reluctant to find out but it was necessary. She needed to know if he'd done it or not.

"What?"

"During the fight…I died didn't I?"

He fought to push off of her and look her straight in the eyes as he sat there in front her, "yes."

She placed her face in her hands and began to cry again, "why didn't you just let me go?"

"Why do you even have to ask that?"

Rose went to stand but couldn't. Cooper who had been standing right outside the door came in to give her a hand. Adrian blocked him however and stood up in order to help her off of the floor himself, "I think I've got it now thanks." He smiled half-heartedly at Cooper who excused himself to watch the door.

Adrian walked her over to the bed where she laid down, sobbing against the pillow that should have been Lissa's. "I won't leave you Rose," he mused into her hair as he went to lie down on the opposite side of the bed from her.

"Who said I wanted you here in the first place?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** So I don't think a lot of people read chapter four so if this seems out of place, I'd suggest you read that then come back to this one. I'm pleased with this chapter, but I'm not sure how it will be perceived by all of you. Let me what you think in reviews, and if you've got any questions feel free to message me. Adrian and Rose are just beginning to test each other out, so give them some time if things seem a little shaky right now.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this, Richelle Mead owns it all. Except Cooper, I think he's pretty cool.

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**Chapter 5**

"You did," he sighed rolling over onto his back as he reach into his pocket to grab his flask. Rose went to take it from his hand but then stopped, allowing him to finish its contents unhindered. "Thanks," he said when he finished. "I know that took a lot for you not to do."

"Whatever," she stretched out trying to touch the bottom of the bed with her feet but she couldn't quite reach. "Why'd you do it?"

"Why did I do what exactly?"

Rose sighed, "why did you save me when I didn't want saving?" She wanted to know the answer and if she's have to ask the question a thousand times before she got an answer she would.

"Because I'm selfish, I'd lost Lissa and I couldn't lose you too. Whether you believe me or not Rose, I truly do love you. Life without you would have been pointless for me."

"But life without them for me is pointless, don't you get it?" She was so tired of fighting with him, and they didn't even fight that much. She rolled off of the bed and walked over to get a tissue from the box to dry her eyes off with. "I know you love me, I just…this is going to take some time for me to get used to. I'd resigned myself to taking care of her the rest of my life and now that she's gone I just don't know what to do. Not to mention Dimitri, I know you don't want to hear it but I really did love him."

Adrian nodded, and motioned for her to come back over to him. "I'm wondering if you'll let me try something. I've been practicing since this morning, but I haven't been able to get it quite yet."

She thought about it for a moment, but knew there was no point resisting him. He'd just do it anyways if he'd been trying for that long. "Why the hell not," she replied as she sat down and closed her eyes. "I'm not sure what you're planning on doing, but I won't fight you whatever it is."

He sat up and placed his hand on her knee before starting. Even though her eyes were closed she felt him staring into her. Her skin began to tingle but nothing else seemed to happen. He eventually gave up and cursed himself under his breath.

"I was so sure I could do it."

Rose looked over at him, "What were you trying to do anyways?"

"Talk to you mentally."

She turned around and laid her head down in his lap as she stretched out once more. "Do you really think we're bonded?"

"I do, even though I'm sure that upsets you."

"Only a little, but at least that explains why I've been wanting to see you so much."

"It couldn't be just because of my charm and good looks?" He smiled a genuine smile for the first time that night.

"I suppose it could but I highly doubt it."

He grabbed his chest, "That hurts. I thought it was just on my part at first. I knew that with you and Lissa that it was you who felt everything that she was feeling which was why it was so strange at first for me."

"Is that why you didn't come sit beside me on the plane?"

He brushed her hair out of her face, "I guess I was so overwhelmed with what you were feeling on top of what I myself was feeling, and don't get me wrong I still am. I just didn't know what to do and I know it hurt you. I've just got to figure out a way to learn to control the emotions so that they don't become too much."

"I can help you with that," she replied as she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry about earlier."

He leaned down and kissed the end of her nose, "don't worry about it. However, I don't want you to confuse my kindness for ignorance either. If you do it again you'll have to pay the consequences."

She cracked a smile and looked back up at him, "I'll try." She moved to sit back up feeling restless, taking his hands in hers as she did, "Can you do me a favor?"

"What would you have me do for you little Dhampir?"

She blushed at the way he'd said that, making her even more nervous that she already was. "Kiss me?"

Adrian didn't need encouraging, leaning in he pressed his lips against hers. She had wanted to feel something and she did. A deep swelling came over her as she kissed him back. Rose pulled him closer to her deepening the kiss and after a few minutes they detached from one another. It was hard to describe what this new kiss had felt like. Similar to the kisses she'd shared with Dimitri, there had been a connection on a deeper level, but there was also something more, a rightness about it now that hadn't been there even in her dreams. She'd never admit it, not now anyways, but she was sure he knew what she was feeling so she wouldn't have to put it into words for him to know anyways.

"There that wasn't so bad was it," he replied as they sat there her head on his shoulder.

"No, I guess not. Can we go get something to eat? I can't remember the last time I ate something. I mean if you're alright with that, if not I can just wait till later or something I don't really want to go by myself, but then maybe I can get Cooper to go with me…but I guess he's going to have to go with me anyways?" She was rambling, the kiss had made her lightheaded and anxious, which was something she rarely ever felt.

Adrian smiled and helped her get ready. "I'll get you some make-up if you'd like. I know you don't usually wear it, but since we're going to be at court for a while I don't want you to feel any less beautiful than anyone here."

"Thanks, I really don't know how I'll repay you for all of this Adrian. I've nothing to offer you. So don't go around buying me every little thing you see, I'd feel even more pathetic than I already do." She had always felt that way even with Lissa, but without her now it was even worse. She felt like she was being bought and paid for, just like the whores of the blood camps.

_I won't have you saying things like that. _

"OH MY GOD," she yelled jumping away from him. Cooper came running in the door ready to attack as Adrian stood there smiling. "You did it!" Rose screamed in excitement.

"I know," he smirked. "Your guard dog looks like he's ready to rip me apart."

"Adrian, you forget that I'm a guardian too don't you? Besides he's my body guard I won't have you bad mouthing him."

"Or you'll do what little Dhampir?"

She punched him in the arm, "you don't want to know what I'm capable of."

They gathered their things and headed down to the dining room. Opting to eat in the kitchen instead of the hall where everyone else was, they ate in silence for the most part. Dinner was simple and as hungry as she was, Rose couldn't stomach much of anything. After dinner Adrian had offered to take Rose to a Pre-Queen tribunal cocktail. Rose had weighed the pros and cons of having a drink before meeting with the queen and all the pros seemed to outweigh the cons.

The bar was empty minus the occasional guardian scattered throughout the room. She'd seen a few of them from when she had visited before but she didn't stop to speak to any of them. They knew who she was and who her mentor had been and they seemed to all be on some sort of silent understanding that things weren't okay but that nothing needed saying. They just knew.

"Ahh…Adrian! My eyes have missed that gorgeous face of yours."

The female bartender who stood reclining against the wall smiled over at him. She was human and from the marks on her arms, was obviously a feeder as well. Her leather tank top clung to her upper body a little too tightly, pushing out an unnecessary amount of cleavage. Rose felt a wave of jealousy form deep down inside of her.

"Charlotte, how have you been?" Adrian took a seat at one of the barstools and patted the seat beside him, "This is my friend Rose." Rose smiled reluctantly and knew it came out more like a grimace than anything else.

"We don't get a lot of female Dhampirs around here," she replied fixing Adrian a drink without asking him what he wanted. "They usually go off to those blood whore camps; you know what I'm talking about don't you?"

Rose gritted her teeth in order to refrain from saying something she'd regret later. Anger ran rampant through her body as she continued listening to what the girl had to say.

"You know I can't blame them or you if you chose to, the feeling you get when they're biting you is just so hot. It's like nothing I've ever felt. You're lucky to be here with Adrian, he's one of the sexiest men around. He's pretty good in bed too isn't he?"

Adrian seemed amused which irritated her even more, "No I can't say we have so I'll take your word for it."

"Well from the rumors I've heard you were already pregnant. Well when you two do it, you'll be in for a treat. So you were one of the guardians at that school right? Like did you fight them or something because you look like you've been through hell. I hear they killed Dimitri Belikov, if they did that's a shame because that's one man I would have loved to have gotten my hands on."

Charlotte just wouldn't shut up and as she sat the drink down in front of Adrian, Rose stole it from his grasp and downed it in one gulp. "Look Charlotte, as stimulating as this conversation is, would you mind too much if I told you to shut the hell up?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize you were so insecure you couldn't handle some competition."

The other guardians were clearly mortified at the thought that someone would be so stupid as to say something like that to her. Rose stood up, followed by a mirrored response from Cooper. "Bitch, if I were you I'd shut your mouth."

"Oh, I'm sorry did I touch a nerve. Maybe you're a lesbian, or maybe you're just like all the other little Dhampir whores nothing but a tease."

"Charlotte," Adrian threatened finally getting in on some of the action, "stop it."

"Or what, is she going to run off to her blood whore mother and tell on me?"

Rose snapped. Clearing the bar was easy enough and as she backed Charlotte into the corner of the bar she wrapped her hands around her throat and began choking her. "My mother isn't a blood whore you dumb bitch."

Cooper and two other guardians had to pull her off of charlotte before she had the chance to kill her. It was a stupid move, she knew that much, and one that would no doubt get back to the queen, but she'd been unable to control herself. Listening to her talk about Adrian in bed, as well as what she'd wanted to do with Dimitri, it was just all too much for her to handle.

Adrian had walked over to Charlotte after it was all over and done with looking pissed off at the world. He placed a hand on her arm and Rose knew he was healing her. Maybe she'd been wrong to trust Adrian? Maybe he couldn't change his playboy ways, but he loved her and that had to count for something at least for a little while.

"We're so sorry that she said those things to you Guardian Hathaway she was out of line but we didn't want to interfere and make it worse for you," replied one of the older male guardians.

Rose put her hand up to silence him, "don't worry about it. It's just been a rough few days."

"We're sorry about your loss; we know how close you were to Guardian Belikov and Princess Dragomir. Our prayers are with you."

"Thanks," she mumbled. "Cooper isn't it time for us to go?"

He looked down at his watch, "yes ma'am. We're supposed to be there in 20 minutes. You'll have to excuse us; the Queen waits for our presence."

"Good luck," said one of the guardians. "I left her earlier and she seemed in a bad mood."

"Oh great," replied an already depressed Rose. "Did she seem upset for any particular reason?"

He looked afraid to answer her, "Not only was she upset about the death of Princess Dragomir, but she seemed upset also about the continued affair between you and Lord Ivashkov."

Rose sighed, "Go figure. I knew she wouldn't be happy to see me again so soon."

Cooper and Rose waited on Adrian while the other guardians went back to their charges before going to bed that night. He didn't take long, but Rose didn't miss the look of sheer terror on Charlotte's face as they left.

Rose lagged behind to walk with Adrian while Cooper walked ahead of them, "what'd you say to her."

"I just told her to leave you alone."

She scoffed, "I saw how she looked at you. You had to say more to her than that."

Adrian's face hardened, "Don't worry about it my little Dhampir. I've taken care of it so you won't have to worry about stupid shit like that from her anymore."

"Adrian, there's probably something I should tell you before we go talk to your Aunt."

"I feel how anxious you are, you really shouldn't worry since you know I'm her favorite. I've got this in the bag." He replied confidently. "But please do enlighten me."

She laughed nervously, "That's just it. You're her favorite and now especially since you'll be carrying on the Dragomir name she's going to want you to marry someone and be serious with someone other than a Dhampir, especially me. She's practically already said as much."

Adrian stopped and looked at her, "That's what she talked to you about isn't it? I knew she wasn't congratulating you on a job well done she doesn't do that. Tell me what she said to you."

He hadn't used compulsion, but she knew if she didn't tell him the truth he would. "She just said that I was supposed to stop seeing you. You were destined for bigger and better things and that eventually all relationships between Morois and Dhampirs were doomed and only caused us heartbreak. You'd use me and leave me like everyone else who had ever been in a similar relationship."

Adrian wrapped his arms around her, hugging Rose's body against his tightly. "I'm not going to do that to you Rose. As much as I love my Aunt she won't tell me who I can and cannot love."

A stray tear fell down the side of her cheek, "I wish that were true."

He looked down at her, "cheer up love. There's nothing to fear from her, she can't send you away. You're too important, besides I think if she did Cooper would go with you anyways he seems pretty intent on keeping you alive."

She smiled as best she could as they started walking once more. The queen ushered them in once they'd gotten there and seated them making sure they were both comfortable. She'd asked a series of questions watching the two of them very closely as she did. Rose noticed the way the Queen stared at Adrian's hand as he rested it on Rose's arm, she noticed the way Adrian left out how he'd saved Rose's life and how they were now bonded, and especially how the conversation drifted along but never really went anywhere.

"I'm sorry for your loss Rose, being so close to both of them must have been a serious hardship for you to lose them both so quickly."

She simply nodded in agreement; there was nothing she could say to the Queen that would help her understand the depth of her sorrow any more than if she didn't explain it.

"Adrian, I need to speak with you alone tomorrow sometime if you're available?" The way she'd worded her previous statement had made it sound like a question but really it was nothing more than her usual commands.

"Of course your highness, although I would be more inclined to meet you early tomorrow morning since I've already made plans with Ms. Hathaway and I'd hate to have to reschedule with everything that's gone on, I feel she needs some consistency to counteract any distress she may still be experiencing."

The Queen smiled, but this was obviously an answer she wasn't expecting, "but of course. Swing by sometime during the six o'clock hour. I'm getting my nails done during that time slot and it'll be a good time for us to meet and discuss your future."

"I already know what I'm doing, but if you'd like to hear my plans I'm more than willing to talk to you about them?"

Adrian couldn't have gotten his point across to her more if he'd slapped her in the face. The Queen looked stunned as she sat there simply staring at him, "we'll discuss this more in depth tomorrow, I can't wait to hear what you've got planned. Adrian, I warn you these are hard times. If you're to replace me you must think of your future in more serious terms than what I'm sure you've got set up in your mind for yourself."

"If I'm to replace you your highness, I'll do it whether I live by your rules or my own." He smiled and stood up taking the Queen's hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. "I'll see you in the morning then dear Aunt."

He turned and offered his hand to Rose. She took it cautiously as he helped her out of her chair. "It's always such a pleasure to see you your highness."

"As it is you, Ms. Hathaway."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I'm slipping into Adrian's point of view for a while on this one, because I feel it's important for you to have a continued dialogue between him and the queen so there can be a greater understanding of her thoughts as well as his as the story progresses. It's also shorter than the last chapter so I hope you all don't mind. Reviews are nice, but you don't have to.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything other than the plot line and Cooper.

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**Chapter 6**

Adrian sat there enjoying a triple espresso as he watched his aunt be pampered by the latest group of desirable men to come through her doors. As she kept getting older her men kept getting younger and being the queen there were no objections, and from the way she was ranting she wanted him to one day experience it as well. From the minute he'd arrived his Aunt hadn't shut up about him and his precious future, but he hadn't the heart to listen to her. Adrian's mind was with Rose who was still sleeping in her room. He knew this because he couldn't get a feed on her emotions, just a black lull that felt like a static charge.

"Adrian," she snapped, "You've not heard a word I just said have you?"

He didn't even try to lie to her, "no I'm sorry I was just thinking."

"What could be so important that you're not listening to me?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe the death of Princess Dragomir? Maybe the death of several of my friends, did you ever think of that? Did you ever think that maybe I'm as so good at separating myself from death as you are? These were real lives that were lost, not just pawns in a chess game."

She glared at him, "and I realize that."

"No your highness, I don't think you do. You sit here with your boys and your wards and you leave them out there abandoned. They're hopeless against the battle because you don't allow them to fight for themselves."

"That sounds a lot like treason my dear nephew; please calm yourself. I don't want you to get into trouble."

He laughed, "I think you are far too fond of me."

"Maybe, but this isn't why I wanted you to come here today. Now that I've got you away from Ms. Hathaway I'd like to talk to you about your future as a royal."

He reclined back in his chair, "I don't see how Ms. Hathaway's absence can have any effect on anything that you can tell me about my future. It's like I told you, I've already got it mapped out."

"No Adrian, I'm afraid you don't. I've spoken with your father and he seems to be quite fond of the ideas that I've laid out for your future and it's been agreed upon."

"If you had wanted to agree with someone on my future you probably should have spoken to me from the beginning."

She wasn't fazed by his remarks, "what do I have to do to get you to listen to me? I know I can't buy you off, you've become independently wealthy but I could probably make a dent in those funds if I chose. Do I need to find you someone else willing to have sex with you? I'm sure there are a number of beautiful women here who would be willing to share that aspect of themselves with you, I know many of my own staff talk about you when you're here in that way if you're just it this relationship because of the sex."

"It's not just that, there are other aspects of our relationship that I am fond of. Besides, it's no concern of yours but we're not even having sex in the first place."

"Don't play me for an idiot Adrian; she's already tried that with me once. I've heard the rumors; I know what you two have been doing behind the walls of St. Vlads."

"How can you even say that with everything that's been happening?" Rose had woken up and her sadness was compounding the feelings he'd already been dealing with that morning. "If there was even an ounce of truth behind the rumors it would be one thing, but I have yet to have any sort of illicit affair with her as you so put it and I'll remind you again even if I had it wouldn't be any of your concern."

"But it is my concern Adrian; everything about your life is my concern. You must do as I say, and that's final."

He laughed, "No your highness it's not final."

"I don't think you…"

"Understand the opportunity that you're allowing me? Look, there are children out there already plotting out ways to overthrown the current royals. You preach about not being treated like an idiot yet here you are claiming that I'm one, when I'm more connected to the people as a whole. You never listen to me when it matters the most and you'd do well to understand that Moroi sentiments have changed over the last few weeks. Ideas like those presented by the Ozera family are taking hold. Students are beginning to practice magic offensively so you'd better be ready, I don't want it to surprise you when they over throw you if you don't change."

She looked at him bitterly, "and I suppose you think your form of change would be a good one for our people?"

"As good as any, at least I'm willing to compromise for the greater good, rather than sacrifice the majority in order to cater to the minority."

"But that's politics," she stated simply.

"Only if you set it up that way."

It was her turn to laugh now, "Do you really think they'll listen to you if you marry her? I mean really Adrian, they're nothing compared to us."

"And yet you sleep with one every night? We're all willing to risk their lives instead of our own and why is that? Because we're more precious? No I don't think so, I think it's because we're all afraid of what could happen if we let them know just how important they are to us. Forgive me for wanting to live my own life and share it with someone who might save me in the end."

"You're so young Adrian; I don't know what to do with you at times. You'll find a Moroi girl in a year or two and settle down, I'll allow your affair to continue but if you marry her I'll have no choice but to pick someone else to be my successor."

"Then you might as well pick someone else now. If she agrees to a romantic relationship with me your highness, I doubt I'll be able to resist proposing to her eventually."

She sighed, "If you say so Adrian, but I'm sure once you've gotten her out of your system things will return to normal."

He looked at her confused, "are you sending me away?"

"No I'm sending her away, she's a guardian isn't she? With the amount of kills she has obtained it would be stupid of me not to assign her to someone in the kingdom as soon as possible. There are so many unprotected as you've mentioned."

Adrian stood up to leave, "I've put in my request to have her as my personal guardian several times. Would you deny me my choice of protection?"

"In this matter yes I would."

His anger filled the room but he was still able to reach out and touch his aunt with his compulsion, "I'd really hate for someone other than myself to have her though your highness."

Her face remained intact, but the fierceness that had filled her eyes was soon fading. "But she's no good for you."

"She maybe no good for me your highness, but she's a good fighter and I'm a danger to myself."

"Danger to yourself, yes that's true, maybe you should have her then?"

He smiled and forced that thought into her mind, it wasn't truly super-compulsion but it was the closest thing he could think to do in order to have his way. "I think that sounds like a lovely idea. Rose will be my guardian as well as the one I have now. Cooper with stay with Rose and all will be fine, won't it your highness?"

She smiled up at him as he stood over her, "of course it will Adrian, whatever made you think it wouldn't be?"

"I don't know just my nerves I guess."

"You will bring her next time you come won't you?"

He smiled lazily at her, "Yeah if that's what you'd want me to do."

"I'd love to see her; make a point of it won't you?"

"Sure thing, I'll see you later, not today and maybe not for a few days, but later."

The Queen shook her head in approval, "I shall surely miss you my dear."

Concerned, he looked at the men around her but they seemed so disconnected from the conversation that he didn't think he had anything to fear from them. He excused himself after this and made his way back to his suite in the castle. It wasn't as nice as his other homes, but it was a nice distraction from his surroundings of late. Once he got there he changed his clothes into something more relaxed. It wasn't often that he wore jeans and a t-shirt but he knew that Rose liked them; he'd seen it in her eyes. Adrian sat down on the bed and reach out to her with his mind. He couldn't see all that much and he didn't want her to know that he was there, but he could vaguely feel what she was feeling and thinking. Not surprisingly she was sad. Having received a call from her mother about funeral arrangements for Dimitri she'd been overwhelmed with too much too early in the morning.

Rose was hungry but didn't want to say anything to Cooper about it. He'd woke up after her but was dressed and ready to meet the day where she couldn't find the strength to even get out of bed. Adrian stood and headed back over to her room.

Rose's room was located in a separate wing of the castle but wasn't too far from his own. The room beside his was empty and he'd looked into getting them moved but hadn't heard back from room assignments yet. He grabbed an arrangement of flowers that occupied the front entry way of his room and handed them to Cooper as he answered the door.

"You can go down to breakfast, I'll watch her for a while if you'd like?"

Cooper sat the flowers down on the bedside table and looked over at her, "Rose is that alright with you?"

She nodded silently.

"Alright I'll see you when I get back and you can tell me what your plans are for the day." He handed Adrian a folded piece of paper which he read quickly before going to sit beside her. The words on the paper concerned him more than he had thought they would and he read them again to make sure he'd read them correctly.

_She's seeing Lissa again, going to check the wards. - Cooper_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** There's not much I can tell you about this chapter. There was a cliff hanger at the end of Chapter 6 that I don't answer in this chapter, so you'll all have to be patient and see what's happening ;) This chapter is back to Rose's point of view but I think that's pretty obvious…I hope you're all having a lovely weekend, and thank you for all the positive reviews. If you read this a review would be nice but you obviously don't have to. Thank you again all of you lovely readers!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this, Richelle Mead does.

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**Chapter 7**

The next few days were a blur. Adrian and Cooper were there, and she was there, but never completely there like they were. Dimitri's funeral was first and had been simple. Guardians had come along with their Moroi's for Lissa's funeral that was to be held the day after his, and most of them had been allowed time off to come if they had made it into town. She didn't have the courage to go up and face him alone but had wished to see him one last time. Adrian and Christian escorted her up to the front of the small chapel and as she looked down at his serene body just lying there lifeless, she fell apart all over again.

The next day as Rose sat in the front row of the church during Lissa's funeral, she tried her best to take in her surroundings. The casket had been picked out by Adrian and he'd done a nice job. She wasn't sure when he told her that he would be doing the arrangements if he'd do a good job or not, but mostly she had regretted the fact that she hadn't been able to do it herself. They'd asked her to speak and so she did. As she scanned the crowd before her, Rose saw a room full of familiar faces. Christian and Tasha Ozera, Eddie, Alberta, even her mother was there, but none of them mattered. She had been halfway through her speech when Lissa's ghostly apparition stood in the aisle in front of her. She had held onto the podium and tried to be polite and continue but she hadn't been able to. Lissa's ghostly finger pointed out towards Tasha as she sat beside Christian reverently.

_She did it_, Lissa whispered.

Rose looked over at Adrian panic-stricken. He stood up and came to assist her off the stage but Rose had to know what Lissa was trying to tell her. She'd suddenly been so over-whelmed with a sense of urgency that it was starting to frighten her.

"Who did what?" Rose asked her loud enough for the room to hear.

Adrian's hand pressed on her lower back as he continued attempting to push her off the stage, but it was no use she was too strong for him as she continued to resist him. "Tell me what she did!"

Lissa shook her head, _you're not ready yet._

Rose had blacked out after that. When she woke up she was laying on one of the couches in the side rooms that sat adjacent to the church. There were a number of people surrounding her but she couldn't really remember who they were. Dr. Olendzki was checking her vitals, and agreeing with whatever it was that Adrian was saying. What had Lissa wanted to say about Tasha? Dr. Olendzki prescribed her a tranquilizer and sent her on her way. They entered the church once more and as Rose sat there watching Christian and Adrian as well as several other Moroi royals carry out her body it was like she was reliving it all over again.

Currently though, Rose was prowling around the courts grand ballroom. It was a beautiful room and one she hadn't meant to fall into, but once she had she wasn't able to leave. She settled in the middle of the dance floor, laid down and started looking up at the ceiling. It was the most beautiful fresco she'd ever seen. A stormy sky opened up to a heavenly scene full of angles and cherubs, but the most striking thing about the image was its colors. The sheer array of grays, blues, and blushes swirled violently on the plaster surrounded by gold leaf, spoke wonders to her.

Cooper was probably flipping out because she hadn't left a note, but she didn't care. Rose let her body relax as she sank into the coldness radiating from the pale pink marble floors.

Rose had almost fallen back to sleep when she heard it, "Where are you little Dhampir?" Adrian asked as his voice came floating down pleasantly into her head.

She wasn't exactly sure what he was capable of through their bond so she projected to him where she was the best she could. Rose couldn't recall doing this with Lissa but she hoped it work, she'd always just been able to tell. It'd be kind of cool if she were ever in a pinch and needed some backup, but a little intrusive at the same time if she were going to try and do something without him knowing. Before Dimitri's funeral had started, Adrian had given her the make-up that he'd promised her. Having been afraid to use it when they'd gone to the funerals she'd finally gotten the chance to try it out that morning. Rose hoped he liked it which was a weird feeling for her, but she knew he'd like it anyways.

He entered the room a few minutes later, a cigarette in his hand.

"Those things will kill you," she remarked sitting up and turning to face him.

"I highly doubt it. If anything will kill me it will be you" Adrian smiled down at her, "What are you doing in here?"

Rose shrugged, "I just happened to be walking by and came in here, but then I got sucked into the painting." She pointed up at the fresco, "It's so beautiful."

"Have you seen it when the ball room is actually in use?" He asked, even though he knew she hadn't.

"No, why?"

"It's even more beautiful." Adrian put out his cigarette and came over to sit beside her. "Maybe we can come to one of the parties they throw in here one day?"

"Maybe, but I'd only be your guardian and even that's on the assumption that your aunt lets me guard you. The woman has it out for me."

Adrian smiled, "I'm sure you won't have to worry about her too much."

"You seem so confident in her liking of me. I'm not sure I've told you just how much she really doesn't like me, I'd almost venture to say that she hates me on the best of days."

He reached down and took her hands in his, pulling her up from the ground. "I've got you so you've got nothing to worry about. Don't worry about how my aunt feels about you; I like you so that's all that should matter."

Adrian pulled her body close against his own as if they were about to start ballroom dancing, "Do you dance?"

Rose laughed, "Not this kind of dancing."

"Then let me teach you."

Rose put her head on his shoulder, "Not right now, let's just slow dance here for a while."

"We don't have any music though, Rose."

She placed a small kiss on the side of his neck, "is that going to stop you?"

It didn't and they danced for a while before Adrian eventually commented on how lovely she looked and asked her how she was feeling. It was nice to be asked instead of him self-imposing his knowledge on her.

"Eventually, I will teach you. It will be necessary at our wedding." Rose couldn't tell if he was joking so she just let it go.

She smiled, "if you'd like but I've got two left."

"That's not true; if you can fight you can dance."

Rose stopped moving, "well I'm not so good at that these days either."

Adrian's arms wrapped around her once more in a tight embrace. "We'll get you better, don't worry love."

Rose nodded as she saw Lissa's ghost walking casually around the room smiling, "I hope so."

"Come on, we've got an appointment."

She looked over at him, "What do you mean we've got an appointment."

Adrian smirked, "You don't have any clothes. You've been wearing that same shirt now for three days; I can't let you go around looking like that."

"Are you always like this?" Rose asked as she followed after him down the hall.

"Like what?" He asked curiously.

"Always this nice and giving to people, don't you ever just get sick of me?"

He smiled, "Not always, but no I don't get sick of you, ever. It's kind of sad really."

"I would so get sick of me," she sighed in a huff. "I'm a bitch."

"Well I won't argue with you there."

She shoved him away from her as she kept walking, "You're so full of shit."

"But you like me anyways."

Rose smiled over at him, "I only like you a little bit."

"A little bit is an improvement from 'Oh my God Adrian you're such an ass get away from me!" Rose couldn't help but laugh as he mocked her. Even in the worst of moods he always seemed to make things better anymore.

Adrian took her too what looked like a tool shed on the outside grounds of the palace. When they entered the building it was cold, and only got colder as they walked down a flight of stairs. A brightly lit shop opened up in front of them. Several women and men lined the walls talking to each other, holding mounds of jeans and brightly colored fabrics up to each other in order to compare them against one another.

One of the older women in the room saw Adrian and ran over to him. "We've been waiting for you Lord Ivashkov. If the Miss will please take off her clothes and put on the robe we've laid out for her we can begin."

Adrian checked to make sure Rose was all right, and then excused himself to make a phone call.

"Ma'am," Rose replied quietly.

"Yes Ms. Hathaway?"

"I don't have any underwear on…and I'm not really comfortable being naked…do you think that?"

The older woman smiled then took her arm, "Don't you worry about a thing. We've got your sizes already picked out so just select something you would feel comfortable in and come back out and we'll get started."

Rose followed after her opting for a pair of midnight blue lace panties with matching bra. When she put them on they felt amazing. She'd never felt more attractive in just a pair of underwear before. Rose wrapped the terry cloth robe around her body and went back into the room where the designers were waiting on her.

The robe wasn't on for long once they'd started. Adrian had returned from the call and sat watching her in the corner. She blushed as she felt his eyes drift over her body, but was soon distracted. The people who'd been standing along the walls came at her in droves. She had to step back and compose herself for a moment before allowing them to come at her once more. Rose had had a flashback to the strigoi attacking her and felt stupid once she'd remembered where she was.

By the time they'd finished she had a completely new wardrobe. Lingerie included. She didn't know where she'd wear half of the stuff but Adrian seemed pleased. Rose changed into one of her new favorite dresses; it wasn't much but came with a sweater that she'd liked.

"I can't believe you wouldn't leave the room when that silly French woman came at me with those nighties. It was sooooo embarrassing the way she was just came at me with no shame and started pulling at my bra and looking at my boobs in front of everyone."

"I don't know why you feel like you had anything to be embarrassed about. I was enjoying it especially when she made you take it off; it was like a dream come true."

"Oh I can only imagine the scandalous rumors that'd get started if people knew you'd seen my breasts in front of a room full of people. We're probably having orgies with the entire staff and don't even know it. But thank you for the compliment," she replied sarcastically.

Adrian laughed, "If only you'd just have sex with me, I could die a happy man. I meant to tell you earlier but I got sidetracked. We've been invited to have dinner with some friends if that's alright with you? I told them I'd be more than happy to go but that I wasn't sure about you. I didn't think you wanted me to speak for you."

"As long as Cooper can come too."

He nodded, "The invitation was extended to him as well."

"Who is it from?"

"Tasha Ozera she's heading back home tomorrow and wanted to visit with some friends before leaving."

She'd been holding onto his hand as they'd walked back to her apartment but let it go suddenly. Hearing Tasha's name brought back the memory of Lissa's funeral. Rose had been reluctant to say anything to Adrian about it before so hadn't mentioned it and didn't feel too comfortable talking about it now either. "Have you accepted?"

"Yes, but I'd happily make an excuse for you if you'd like. I just told you I'd accepted."

She shook her head, "Right, sorry. No of course we'll go, I'm just being stupid. After effects of all the cloth shopping, they've sucked my brains out."

"The pronouns you are using this evening are making me quite happy."

Rose laughed, "That's so stupid Adrian! Although, if I'm going to feel like Julia Roberts in _Pretty Woman_ I might as well give you that chance you've been waiting for shouldn't I? Besides we'd be going together so we would be a couple of sorts, if that makes sense."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Greetings lovely readers! I'm a little iffy on this chapter, I feel like it could have come out so much better. So if you do read it and leave a review, be kind? I've got family in town so I probably won't be able to update as much the next few days so I'll work on making Chapter 9 better than this one. Reviews are nice, but not mandatory.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this, just Cooper.

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**Chapter 8**

"Rose, Adrian! How wonderful it is to see you." Replied Tasha as she embraced the both of them individually in greeting. "I'm so sorry for the loss you've both received especially you Rose. I know how close you and Lissa were. My deepest condolences go out to both of you."

Rose smiled as best she could, "Thanks. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to speak at the funeral the other day."

"Don't worry I completely understand. Cooper's already here just make yourselves comfortable and dinner will be up shortly." Tasha escorted them into a small reception area were several people sat around talking to one another. There were a couple of people there who Rose wasn't familiar with but most of them were just Moroi's and their guardians. One Moroi called out Adrian's name and he excused himself to go speak with him, he didn't look older than 25 but she couldn't quite place him. Christian stood to greet her as she walked over to him. It seemed to Rose she'd never been hugged so much in all her life as she had the past few days, "It's so good to see you."Rose replied hugging him tightly back.

"It's good to see you too. I've been so busy the past few days with my aunt that now that I've settled down it's finally hit me why I'm here."

Rose noticed that his eyes were bloodshot from crying and wondered if her eyes looked like that as well? "I wake up sometimes and go to look for her in the bed beside mine but then I remember she's not there. It's the absolute worst feeling in the world. I'm just so used to her always being there, I feel like I've lost a part of myself."

"Do you think we'll move on?" He asked her soberly.

"You will for sure."

He looked at her surprised, "and you know this how?"

"I didn't mean that negatively, I meant it in a good way. You've taken up your aunt's fight, you'll find working a good distraction and overtime maybe you'll even find someone you love. Who knows, it may never be the same kind of love you had with Lissa but you'll find someone to share some semblance of a life with and continue the race. It's inevitable."

He sank back down in his chair, "maybe. You've put a lot of thought into that haven't you?"

"Remind me one day I have to tell you something."

Christian rolled his eyes, "Oh lord, you and Lissa weren't lesbians were you?"

She laughed taking the seat beside him as he sat back down. "You wish Ozera. Then maybe you could have watched or something while we made-out."

"Holy shit Rose, that's sick!"

Rose started laughing so hard she started to cry. "Oh God could you imagine? You'd have been there doing Lord only knows what to yourself watching us if we had been. You'd have probably set yourself on fire by accident because you wouldn't have been able to control yourself."

He joined in her laughter, "You're so stupid sometimes."

Rose was surprised at how seeing everyone like this was affecting her. Maybe she had needed to see some other people besides the four walls of her bedroom, but she still felt like such a buzz kill as she sat there watching Lissa walk around the room. Dinner was called to order not long after everyone had settled in. An array of sandwiches were brought out and put on display in front of them as well as several different soups. Rose opted for a roast beef sandwich and butternut squash soup. Adrian was still talking to some guy so she sat beside Christian instead of waiting for him.

"I've heard you've been spending all your time with Adrian and your new guardian while you've been here."

"Well obviously I'm going to be spending time with my guardian, he's my guardian." She took a sip of her soup, "do you have any idea how weird it is for me to say?"

He nodded as he doctored his sandwich to include nearly twice as much meat as it had originally including five strips of bacon. "One can imagine, but Adrian? I heard you even got in a fight defending him at the bar the other day."

"Who told you?" Rose asked leaning in to whisper.

"Don't worry it was one of my guardians who helped you, calm down."

"You've got guardians…as in plural. Well look who's moved up in the world."

He popped his collar, "I know right? You've still not answered my question and I refuse to let it go so you might as well own up to it."

She sighed heavily, "I wasn't defending Adrian. I was defending myself and Adrian just happened to be there with me at the time. Although in my defense if he hadn't been there I probably wouldn't have gotten in the fight in the first place so I guess he was the instigator."

"Of course you would have sooner or later, Charlotte had it out for you and wasn't going to stop until she got her hands on you," replied Adrian as he sat across from them.

"Yeah but I probably wouldn't have almost killed her if she had just done it on her own terms."

Adrian shrugged, and looked back to Christian. "Maybe but we'll never know. I was mildly concerned you'd find out Ozera. Have you told anyone?"

"No why would I?" He asked slightly annoyed.

"Just keep it that way okay?"

Christian laughed at Adrian around his sandwich, "Giving orders now Lord Ivashkov?"

"Lord Dragomir," he corrected. "But no just keeping the rumors at bay. I'm lobbying for Rose as I'm sure you're aware and the least amount of scandal would probably serve better for my cause."

Christian stiffened beside her, confused Rose tried to reach out to Adrian's thoughts as she had with Lissa's but nothing. "I knew you'd placed a request but I thought the Queen had declined your wishes again."

"You all are talking about me like I'm not even here."

"A common trend among men I'm afraid. Rose before you leave can I have a word with you?" asked Tasha as she walked up behind them.

"Sure thing," Lissa stood beside her, staring a hole in Tasha's face. Why was she so upset with Tasha it didn't make any sense to her.

The rest of the night went amazingly well. Christian and Adrian continued their 'my horse is bigger than your horse' show and Adrian had even set Christian on fire at one point. Christian had freaked out for a few seconds until he was finally able to get it under control at which point he set Adrian's jacket on fire. It had left behind little burn marks all over the sleeves, leaving it beyond repair. Rose found Tasha as instructed by the end of the night; she hadn't really seen Tasha other than the few times she'd popped over to see them but finding her was easy enough.

Tasha escorted Rose to what she imagined was her bedroom and gently cracked the door. "I'm going to make this brief Rose because I can tell you're tired. I know you've been through a lot lately and especially since I've found out a certain bit of information these past few weeks. You see it didn't settle with me when Dimitri turned me down so I spoke to someone who seemed very well acquainted with you and Dimitri and was able to help me in finding out a few things about you."

Rose's heart sank, "I don't know what you think you know, but there can't be anything that would be related to Dimitri and myself that would have stopped him from taking your offer."

"Nothing related to Dimitri and you? Don't play dumb Rose, I know about your relationship. I don't want to expose you but I need information other than what Christian can provide me. Adrian however knows more than he's letting on and I need you to spy on him for me."

Rose stood there stunned, "Over my dead body."

Tasha looked cruel for a few moments then smiled, "You shouldn't say things like that."

"Oh and why's that?" asked Rose sarcastically.

"It might happen one day."

"Seeing any ghosts lately Tasha?" Rose wasn't sure why she'd said it, but felt like someone had forced her to.

Tasha looked unsettled, but continued. "I thought you'd be a part of our revolution."

Rose smiled, "I thought I would too, guess just not yours. But it doesn't sound like it's yours anymore, and I'm guessing I know who you got your information from. How was Victor when you saw him? I mean seriously Tasha, there's got to be a better way to go about this. One that doesn't involve everyone dying or worse becoming strigoi that sounds good to me doesn't it you? Don't you want people to be happy or are you just that upset that you got rejected?"

Cooper poked his head around the corner opening the door slightly, "There you are! Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah I think we're done here. Have a safe flight home Tasha." _Yeah to hell!_

Christian stood at the door with her sweater. "Are you going to be around tomorrow?"

"Yeah why?"

"Let's hang out; I don't have any meetings planned since my aunt's going to be gone. I'll text you…or did your phone?" He couldn't finish.

"Yeah I've still got it."

Christian helped her into her sweater then kissed her on the cheek goodbye. Adrian's anger hit her like a bat to the back of the head as she turned to wait for him in the hallway. When Christian shut the door Adrian extended his hand to wrap around her shoulder, but Rose slapped his hand away. "Jerk!"

"You let him kiss you!" He hissed.

"Oh my god, he's a friend. If I were European we'd have probably kissed on the lips when we said goodbye and it wouldn't have been a big deal."

"You're not European though."

Cooper couldn't help but laugh. "No one was talking to you Guardian so shut up."

Rose couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Don't tell him to shut up."

"Oh I'm sorry Rose, did I upset you again?" Replied Adrian sarcastically.

"What the hell is wrong with you Ivashkov?"

"Why are you so mad Rose? Calm down Jesus."

She couldn't though, with everything that had just happened with Tasha she felt uneasy and threatened. Rose wanted to go back in there and beat the crap out of her but that would be stupid so she kept fighting with him, "Was it that stupid kiss you're mad over."

"I said calm down!" Rose had never seen him so mad over something so trivial as a kiss on the cheek.

"Why, maybe I don't want to, did you ever think of that? I don't have to do everything you tell me to do you know!"

He pushed her against the wall, "Chill the fuck down I'm serious Rose."

She pushed him off of her "You calm down!"

"I can't because you won't." Adrian seemed to be pleading with her now but it had no effect on her.

"You won't so why should I? I mean seriously Adrian do you just want me to kiss you too? Are you that jealous just like that stupid bitch?"

"Rose, really stop it."

"No I won't stop!" Rose practically jumped at him wrapping her hand around the back of neck pulling him down to her as she kissed him. "Stay with me tonight?" she whispered against his lips. Rose was finally starting to gain control over her emotions but she still felt threatened.

Adrian looked at her confused, "you weren't mad were you?"

"No Lord Dragomir. Rose had been threatened," replied Cooper.

"By who?"

"Tasha Ozera sir."

He looked back to Rose, "Is this true?"

Rose looked around cautiously, "Can we just go back to my room or somewhere I don't want to talk about this here."

"Our room has been moved Ms. Hathaway."

She looked confused, "Where did they move our room to?"

"It's beside mine now," replied Adrian with a smirk.

Rose sighed, "Only you would do something like that, I swear."

The three of them entered into Rose's suite. Cooper went straight into business mode which was funny because Rose hadn't even noticed he'd been paying much attention to anything other than the other guardians at the party. "I was able to record the entire conversation between them if you give me a second I can pull it up." He sat a small device on the table and started pushing buttons.

"You recorded me?" She asked appalled.

Cooper didn't even look up as he replied, "Tasha looked suspicious all night. Didn't you notice how her attention never really shifted from you all night?"

"No, I thought she was deep in conversation about using offensive magic with those other Moroi's." Rose felt guilty for not having paid more attention, almost like when she'd let Dimitri down.

"I had a little but I hadn't thought anything of it," replied Adrian. "I just assumed she was looking out for Christian since he looked pretty rough."

Adrian sat across from Cooper in one of the arm chairs and watched intently as Cooper worked the tiny machine in front of them. Cooper started talking about how he'd ordered it from some magazine from Czechoslovakia and that technically it was illegal in the United States to use.

Rose couldn't help but laugh, "You two geek out, I've heard this already."

As Rose walked into the bedroom she felt a hand much too rough to be Adrian's grab her arm. "Rose, can I have a word?"

"Yeah sure come in. What is it?" She asked Cooper as he stood in front of the door.

"I looked into the wards like you asked me to. They were all fine, I even had several of the other guardians look into it as well as several Moroi's. If you're seeing Lissa's ghost it must be related to something other than the wards because they're all in place."

Rose felt funny, almost like she was about to get a headache but it went away as soon as it came, "well thank you for looking into that for me. I'm sure it's nothing, just stress related."

"Maybe," and with that he excused himself.

Rose wasn't going to think about this right now, there were too many other things to worry about than why she was seeing ghosts. Right now, all she was going to worry about was what night gown she was going to wear and what it would be like to have Adrian sleep with her instead of just dream walking.

There were so many nightgowns in front of her now that she didn't know which to pick. Opting for a longer, red silk gown she had gotten Rose decided it was time to test the sheets. Lying down had been a bad idea though, because she was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** So this is quite a long chapter compared to the others, or maybe it just feels that way. I'm really enjoying writing this story so I'm hoping you're all still enjoying it as well. There is a bit of a lemon in here. I tried to keep it as PG rated as possible to keep the T rating but yeah. I hope you all enjoy that. Reviews are lovely; they make me feeling like I'm not just wasting my time.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Vampire Academy Series.

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**Chapter 9**

Rose was laying out in one of the bathing suits she'd gotten earlier that day. The beach was quite and warm, the only sound she could hear was the waves crashing against the shore. "You've really outdone yourself this time." There was an empty towel to the right of her so there was only one guess needed to imagine who it was for.

"I really pulled the strings out for this one. For obvious reasons I don't make it to the beach very often and this one well...it took a lot of effort on my part."

Rose wasn't sure she wanted him in her dreams tonight. She rarely had what she considered being "adult dreams" but tonight would have been one of those nights she probably would have one if he hadn't shown up. "Why are you in my dreams tonight Adrian? Don't you have a mood ring for dreams and know when you shouldn't be in someone else's?" Looking up at him Rose knew instantly he knew exactly how she felt. "No way! This has to be some form of exploitation, seriously."

"Only if you don't want it, then that's something all together different." He crouched down in front of her, crawling over her body until he was completely on top of her.

"So is dream walking sex like real sex?"

He started kissing the exposed skin of her chest, "I'm not really sure, I've never done it. I'd think it would be real enough because everything we do in your dreams is real to me."

"So this would count as real sex then?"

After she had asked her question, Rose knew she'd hurt him. "Does 'real' sex with me seems that bad to you? I'm sorry I can't be Dimitri and that I'm just a drunken stand-in who smokes too much and invades your nighttime hours."

She woke up after that alone and frustrated, not so much at Adrian but for allowing herself to feel that way. Even in her dreams and with Dimitri dead, the thought of being turned on bothered her because it wasn't with him. Sometimes, when she was alone like this, Rose wished she could see Dimitri's ghost instead of Lissa's. While it was a comfort seeing her, Rose often felt that if she could see his face one more time she'd be alright. Thinking back to the sad look on his face as they had stepped into the elevator in the Hotel she wondered if she'd ever see him again.

Rose got up and crept over to Adrian's room. He had left a spare key to his suite with Cooper who had told her where he would keep it in case she needed it for some reason. As Rose slipped into his suite she was surprised he didn't wake up, it wasn't like she was trying to keep from waking him as she clamored around the room in the dark. As she walked into his bedroom she noticed that it smelled slightly of vodka and cigarettes. She smiled as she crawled into bed beside him noticing the smell got stronger the closer she got to him. Debating on whether to wake him up or not she finally decided to say his name several times to see where that got her. A few times proved nothing so she placed her hand on his shoulder to wake him up.

He woke with a jump as her hand touched his skin and he pinned her against the mattress. It took him a moment to realize who it was, but before he'd manage to make her out he had brought his fangs into full view and almost ripped a large portion of her hair out from pulling the back on her head. "Oh…it's just you," he replied in what she almost took as disgust.

"I wanted you to stay with me."

He rolled his eyes at her, "and I wanted to have a little fun in your dreams but we can't always get what we want now can we?"

"I actually came here for a reason, other than making you feel bad."

"What'd you come for then?"

"I'm a virgin Adrian, that's why I asked you if dream sex was real sex because I didn't want to lose my virginity in a damn dream." Replied Rose with a little more hostility than she meant to.

He laughed sluggishly, "I must have stupid written all over me if you think I'm going to believe that one."

"I'm being honest with you Adrian," she pleaded as she pushed him off of her to sit up a get a better look at him. "I wouldn't lie to you about something like this, I may act a certain way but that's because I don't want people to know I'm a virgin. It's not like I haven't had opportunities in the past, especially this past year. I'm sure Mason or even Dimitri would have allowed me to have my way with them on many occasions I just…I never wanted to, except that one time when Victor's magic almost forced Dimitri and I too. That's as close as I've ever gotten."

"You're serious aren't you?"

"No shit Sherlock, of course I'm serious. I'm not going to lie about still having my virginity card at eighteen, that's only mildly embarrassing and then you ran off before I even had a chance to explain myself forcing me out of my own dream."

Adrian grabbed a hold of her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it gently, "Well I appreciate you telling me. Although, if you've come here to have me deflower you there's no way I'm doing it now."

She laughed, "That's fine maybe I didn't want you to deflower me anyways Ivashkov, did you think of that one?"

He sat up, the bare expanse of his chest exposing itself as he did so. "You may be saying that little Dhampir but your eyes are giving you away. I could have you right here if I wanted."

Rose blushed, "You're so confident in your skills as a lover?"

Adrian laid her back down onto the bed and straddled over her, "most definitely." With that they started kissing. Her hands roamed freely over the vast expanse of his upper body. She had momentarily forgotten that he slept in the nude but soon realized it as she reach further down and felt that his hips were exposed as well. Rose gasped, as she looked back up at him. The mood had clearly changed between them now when she didn't stop her hands from roaming along his skin. He pulled away from her lips ever so slightly and looked down at her.

"I can't do this if you're going to regret it tomorrow."

"I won't," she promised. "I want to do this Adrian."

He kissed her softly on the lips once more, "We'll try something first but we won't go all the way tonight." He crawled out of the covers and positioned himself in front of her. Adrian's hands felt warm against her skin even through her night gown. Catching her hem in his hands he pulled it up past her thighs and up to her hips, "I'm going to need you to take this off."'

She smiled, "Take what off exactly?"

"This thing you're wearing or do I need to do it for you?"

"Maybe," she replied playfully.

"Sit up," he commanded, his voice deeper than she'd ever heard it before.

"If you'd like," Rose sat up and raised her arms over her head. Adrian made short work of taking her night gown off and tossed it on the ground beside the bed.

"Absolutely beautiful," he replied as he took in her naked body. "Do you know how long I've wanted to see you like this?"

"Not too long," she replied playfully.

"Semantics, but it's felt like ages."

He placed his hand on her chest as he laid her back against the bed. "All you have to do is stay right where you are okay?"

Rose nodded as she watched him curiously. He started kissing her again, but not her lips. Going straight for her neck he gently massaged her chest in his hand. "Can I bite you?" he asked. Unsure of what he'd really said because it had came out so softly, she thought he hadn't said it at all and that she'd simply imagined it.

"Can you what?"

He looked up at her ashamed, "Don't worry about it I take it back."

"Adrian, what did you ask me?"

He sighed against her neck. "I asked if I could bite you, but it was stupid of me."

She first thought back to the incident with Lissa and Dimitri, then to Spokane. Those weren't the images she wanted to think about so she shoved them to the back burner and remembered what it was like when she used to feed Lissa. She'd grown to love the feeling once and even got jealous when they'd been forced to stop. "Adrian, if we're going to be taking it to this level whatever this level may be we can't do it often and I mean it."

"So you'll let me?" He replied shocked.

"Yes, but I'm serious. Once maybe every few months but no more than that, I don't want to be like them you have to understand that."She brought her hand to his face to bring it up to hers.

"I won't let you."

"Promise me on your life you won't, because the minute I turn into one of those…those women. I'm going to have to take your ass out of the game."

He kissed her softly on the lips with a smile, "I promise."

She smiled back up at him, "at least if you're going to do it please do it where no one can see it."

Adrian smirked like a Cheshire cat, "I'd hoped you'd say that."

"Uh-oh," she remarked suspiciously.

"Don't worry my little Dhampir," he replied as he moved down between her legs. "I've only done this once, but it had a rather interesting affect on the person I did it to."

She looked down at him positioning himself right above her thigh. "Hmm…somehow I think you'd have an interesting affect on women no matter what you did."

"This will only hurt a second," he replied encouragingly. Rose held her breath as he sank his teeth down on the femoral artery that ran the length of her leg. She cried out with a mixture of pain and pleasure as he sank further down onto her leg.

"Adrian!" She moaned loudly, but before she got a chance to go any further he started caressing her gently. He continued in this manner for what felt like years but had only been a few minutes until she reach climax.

He came back up to her, lips red and covered in blood, kissing her like she'd never been kissed before. "I'm not going to sleep with you tonight Rose."

She looked up at him confused, "did I do something that offended you?"

He smiled, "No it's just because I don't want you to get used to the feeling of being bitten and have sex afterwards. It will help you stay as you are now."

"But I want to," she said simply.

"Which is why we shouldn't this time, trust me little Dhampir. I'm keeping you an honest woman."

She sighed, "Well what about you?"

He laughed, "What this?" Pointing down to his erection, "Minor setback."

"What are you going to do with it then?"

"Well I'm sure you could think of something to do with it if you wanted to."

She smiled over at him, "what like this?" Rose placed her hand on him and began stroking.

Adrian moaned, gripping the sheets as he did, "Yeah, like that."

It took longer for him to finish than it had her but it was nice all the same. Rose had never done that before and had been interested in his reaction. When she finished she'd placed a kiss on the exposed skin of his hips.

"What am I going to do about you little Dhampir?" he asked breathless.

"I don't know I rarely know what I'm going to do with myself on a daily basis."

She curled up beside him. "Well at least you won't have to feed later," replied Rose as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Thank you Rose," he whispered against the side of her head.

"For that? I should be the one thanking you."

"But I know what it took for you to let me do that, so thank you."

"You're welcome."

He kissed her head once more and reach out to her through their bond, _I love you._

"I know you do."

* * *

Adrian had fallen back to sleep not long after their time together. Rose couldn't for some reason and only dozed off for about an hour before waking up again. It was still early but she knew Cooper would be up soon so she dressed and headed back to her room. Curling back under her covers she decided to pull out her phone from the bedside table. Apparently her phone had been neglected a lot the past few days because there were several unanswered calls, texts, and messages.

The first message was from Eddie: _Hey Rose, it's Eddie, give me a call when you get a chance._

Then from her mother: _Rose? Hey it's your mom. Just seeing how you're doing, we didn't get a chance to say goodbye before I had to leave. Do be careful with Lord Ivashkov, he'll only hurt you in the end._

"If only you knew mother," she replied to no one in particular. She almost called her mom back but decided it was best just to send her a text back, no telling what she might be doing. _U worry 2 much about me, I'm ok - rose_

Most of the text messages were from friends who couldn't make it to the either of the funerals sending their condolences. The thought that someone would send their condolences in a text message was just so foreign to her. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to do something like that since she didn't text much, but she figured it was probably no different than e-mailing someone but definitely less personal than writing a letter. She looked for Christian's number in her phone and sent him a text like he'd asked her to last night.

_Hey, I'm sure ur asleep but I'm up give me a buzz back when ur awake - rose_

Rose decided there was no point in just laying around so she got up and took a shower to get ready. She wasn't sure what they'd be doing if they even decided to do anything at all, but she knew it probably wouldn't be anything fancy. So she put on this pair of jean shorts that came just above her knees so as to not show off her bite. Adrian while healing most of her ailments as of late had somehow forgot to take his brand off of her. _I see how it is_, she thought to herself.

Rose heard her phone beep and went to check it. _You're up early, plans?_

_I was hoping u'd have some_ – _rose_

Minus the time she'd guarded him, they'd never spent much time together alone.

_Come to my room, I'll plan a movie for us._

_Room number? – rose_

_311. Knock first I may be naked._

_Thinking about lesbians again are you? – rose_

_STFU K THX._

* * *

They sat there sharing a bottle of Vodka watching Donnie Darko. As she watched Jake Gyllenhall's struggle with Frank, Rose felt uneasy with herself. "It's kind of funny the mom's name is Rose"

He looked over at her, "why's that?"

"Because I see Liss everywhere like Donnie and Frank, so I could be Rose Darko what with my name and all."

"Sounds like a super hero," Christian joked, quoting a line from the movie.

"How do you know I'm not?" she replied back. They busted out laughing as they started watching Donnie and Gretchen make out in Donnie's bedroom.

"What made you pick this movie?" she asked playing with the bottle that rested between her knees.

"It's my favorite. I think I look like Donnie and you're seeing ghosts so together we might as well just be Donnie you know?"

She sank down into the chair chasing the feeling of her buzz. "Yeah, but I don't want to be Frank. I'm probably Grandma Death, I've died twice now."

"Have you really?" Christian asked surprised.

"Hell yeah man, first in the crash with Lissa and then when they were dragging me away from the death scene. One of those mothers threw a knife into my neck. Adrian saved me just like Lissa had, so maybe instead of being shadow kissing, I'm like shadow screwed over now," She started giggling.

"Why not just say the real thing?"

"Because it's not worth it, Lissa doesn't like that word."

He took her hand, "I wish I could see her like you do."

"No you don't."

Christian started to cry just a little, "I just…I should have been there. I was sleeping. Sleeping! Do you realize how pathetic I feel? I could have lit them up; I hear there were like 20 of them or more."

"You can't change the fact that you weren't there Christian. I was there and still couldn't do enough to save her. I blame myself everyday for her death."

"Yeah but it's not your fault. You did the best you could." She didn't believe him especially because of the way he was crying now. She sat up and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"But really Christian, don't beat yourself up over this you've got nothing to feel upset over when it comes to that."

"I just miss her so much." That's when he kissed her. Rose was set off at first but knew why he'd done it so she didn't stop him. They didn't kiss long and when they stopped he looked dreadful. "I'm so sorry Rose."

She smiled, "don't worry about it."

"I put into have you as my guardian but I don't think I'll get you."

"Why not?" she asked curiously know that it had everything to do with Adrian, but she figured he had just as good of a chance as Adrian did.

"Because Adrian's relentlessness is beginning to work on the Queen. I almost had you the other day and I went to get the paperwork but when I got back she said she'd have to think about it more because she wasn't sure what she was going to do with you."

"I don't understand why everyone wants me, I'm such a failure."

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, "No you're not."

Rose took another swig of vodka and stood up. "I guess you're right, I'm not so bad."

"What are you going to do the rest of the day?"

She wasn't sure but all of a sudden the mix between the tranquillizers she was on and the vodka was going straight to her head. "I think I need to go lay down for a bit."

"Are you feeling okay?" Christian asked standing up to catch her because she was a little uneasy on her feet.

"I'm not sure; I think I just need to lay down for a bit."

"You've said that already."

"Where's Adrian?" she asked absentmindedly.

Christian started walking her up the stairs, "I'm not sure but we'll go find him ok?"

"ok," she replied struggling just to make it up the stairs and down the hall back to her room.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Another chapter set in Adrian's point of view. It's hard for me no to want to throw him in every now and then because I feel it's important to understand what he's doing as well as understanding what he's feeling. I definitely feel it's good when trying to understand the story as a whole. I've finally reach 1,040 hits on this story! I can't tell you how happy I am about this. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and leave a review if you feel so compelled.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this.

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**Chapter 10**

Adrian woke up around 7pm to an empty bed. He wasn't upset but he wasn't as happy about it either, but there was a part of him that hadn't expected her to stay around for him to wake up. He knew that Christian and Rose had plans so he hadn't meddled. Adrian had actually been told not to meddle the night before when he had stayed back to talk to Cooper. He hadn't talked to Rose about the conversation he'd had with Cooper when she'd went to bed and was surprised she hadn't brought it up when they'd spent time together earlier. He thought back to the conversation Cooper and analyzed it once more.

"_I know you're fond of Ms. Hathaway, but I'll remind you that she's been through a lot these past few weeks and I don't want to see her getting hurt even more than she already has. This incident with Tasha could pan out to be nothing, but until I am able to find out more on the matter I'd appreciate it if you'd behave around her. She doesn't need that kind of stress," replied Cooper in his stern southern accent._

"_I take it as her guardian you feel like you know what's best for her?"Adrian asked skeptically._

"_In this matter I do. I spoke with her mother, and she feels…" Adrian cut him off._

"_She doesn't even talk with her mother, so I don't see how she's even in this conversation."_

_Frustrated Cooper ran a hand through his hair, "Ms. Hathaway may not talk to her mother but she's got guardian experience that is helpful for Ms. Hathaway and does look out for her the best she can, given her situation."_

"_Oh please, her situation is self imposed. If she had wanted to have a child that she actually wanted to take care of she could have gotten out of the whole guardian business."_

"_No she couldn't have. She was one of the few experienced women and she still is. What she does has been ground breaking in a time where many people don't want to continue being Dhampirs because they don't see the value in it. Guardian Hathaway gives the youth a role model, especially the young girls. They see you or someone like you and they truly do think that you're going to make good on the promises you make them as you use them up." _

"_I'd never do something like that with Rose."Adrian could tell that Cooper was on a tirade but he couldn't help but defend his intentions for Rose. _

"_I'm not saying you would, I'm saying that people like you do it every day and think nothing about it. Yet you sit there in your high towers and complain that no one's protecting you, where are all the guardians? What do you expect them to do? Why would they want to send their children off to have the same thing happen to them?" He didn't believe him when he said that he didn't believe that Adrian was capable of doing something like that, he knew how much Cooper didn't approve of him._

"_I can't fix all the wrongs of my people, but I can give you my word I won't do them to Rose. If I ever get the chance to make her a proper offer, I'll stay true to my word."_

"_But you're a royal Lord Dragomir, you have an obligation to those very same people who have mine killed on a daily basis."_

"_Things need changing around here; I don't think you all realize just how important you are."_

"_I know how important I am for the well being of your race, but I'm done talking about this. Christian and Rose are making plans for tomorrow, I know you heard them discussing it."_

"_I may have heard something along those lines, yes."_

"_I'd appreciate it if you let her have some time to herself. I'll check in on her throughout the day, but I think both of them need to spend some time together. They've got a lot to talk about and it would probably go best if you weren't there."_

_Adrian wasn't used to being stood up to like this from the guardians and he didn't like it too much. "I see, so I'm being told to stay away or you'll make me stay away?"_

"_You said it, not me sir."_

_Adrian had thought it over, she had seemed happy to see Christian so maybe it wasn't all that bad for her to spend time with someone other than himself, "alright I'll play along, but if something happens to her I'm holding you responsible."_

"_Thank you sir."_

"_I'll send some of my people over to you, once I wake up so that you can have some additional man power to assist you in finding out information on Tasha."_

"_They'll be useful, thank you." _

While he didn't like being told what to do, Cooper had had a point. One that even Adrian couldn't deny. The Moroi had been cruel to the Dhampirs over the years but it was just the way things were. That didn't mean that they were all that way, but telling someone like Cooper that he was different than that was like talking to a brick wall. A brick wall with the same agenda as the last brick wall Adrian had run into. The Queen was leaving to for a weekend getaway with one of her boys and had already said her goodbyes to Adrian. So without Rose his daily schedule was empty.

The thought of practicing Spirit was mildly entertaining for a while, but without Lissa or another Spirit user it just wasn't the same. If Rose had been there he was sure he would have had some enjoyment in doing it but she wasn't. Pulling out his laptop he conducted some minor business details. Having somehow managed to get into the viral marketing world when he was about 16, Adrian had secretly become one of the richest of the Moroi without even working at it. He'd set up a program that allowed other companies to advertise for a fee on certain websites. Every time their company's advertisement went out he got a kickback, pretty much like all the other viral marketing firms but he had set his apart. He'd hired a design team that made the logos for the separate companies or improved on old designs which made them appealing to internet service providers in ways previous advertisements had not. Adrian made sure that the design teams were able to keep up with current trends by hiring free lance graphic designers from prestigious blogs on the internet.

His company had managed to go global in no time and he had several offices now all over the world. He was proud of what he had been able to accomplish, but now that everything was set up and running on its own he rarely had to do anything with it. His company had become a well oiled machine and unless there was any fraud or major incidents occur it required little work on his part, which was good to an extent but meant he had more free time than he knew what to do with. The only person who really knew about his business adventure was the Queen but she didn't really care all that much only when it came in handy to threaten him with. She felt that much of the internet was a waste for humans to reach all new levels of sexual deviance.

After a while however, Adrian was unable to resist the urge to reach out and see what Rose was doing. Her mind was blurry, something he'd never encountered before. He couldn't feel what she was feeling, nor could he tell where she was. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, surely she wasn't in trouble. He tried again. This time he got a bit of the image that he hadn't been able to see before. They were in a dark room, and looked like they were watching a movie. There was a movie room on the grounds so he seemed pretty confident that that's where she was. He couldn't quite make out the movie that she was watching, but could see the open bottle she held in her hand. _So I can't see you when you drink, _he thought to himself. _Interesting_.

About an hour later he heard Christian's voice coming from the hallway. Curious he got up and went to look out his peep hole. Rose looked terrible! He hadn't gotten dressed since he hadn't been anywhere and rushed to his room and threw on some clothes. By the time he was out in the hallway they'd made it inside. Pounding on the door Adrian waiting impatiently for Cooper to answer.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked furiously.

"She's just had one too many. She's thrown up just now in the bathroom and she's resting in her room. Christian's helping her change and with some rest I'm sure she'll be fine."

Adrian pushed Cooper out of the way, "Like hell he is."

Christian had just taken her shoes off when Adrian stepped into the room. Taking in Rose's figure his heart began to beat rapidly. She looked even worse up close, but then he guessed he looked like that pretty often himself. "What'd you do to her?"

Christian answered calmly, "I didn't do anything to her. We just had a few drinks and it didn't mix well with her meds. I'm sorry; I didn't know she was on anything."

"What were you all drinking, gasoline? Look at her."

"I see how she looks," replied Christian through clenched teeth.

"I knew I shouldn't have let her go out with you." he practically growled over at Christian as he sat beside Rose on the bed. "Rose, I'm going to make you better now ok? Give me your hand."

She resisted him, "No…I don't want…"

Adrian couldn't handle her like this, so he grabbed her hand anyway and healed her in a matter of seconds. When she realized she wasn't drunk anymore, instead of being happy she seemed mad. "I told you not to do that Adrian."

"I know you did, but I was helping you feel better."

"You never listen to me."

"That's so not true," he commented forgetting Christian was standing there beside her.

"I didn't mean to get that way but I didn't want you to fix me either," her eyes filled up with tears. He wrapped his arms around her as he felt Christian's hand pat her gently on the back.

"Don't you think you've done enough?"

"What exactly have I done Ivashkov?" Christian replied calmly, but the fire was behind his eyes in a way that Adrian knew he was pissed.

"You got her drunk," he pointed to the bottle on the dresser.

"No he didn't, that was my bottle that I took to share with him. So if anyone got me drunk I'm pretty sure it was me." She replied in his defense wiping the tears off of her face. "Besides, I had a really great time today." Adrian couldn't help but feel jealous as he watched her smile up at him. Christian seemed determined to have her as a guardian but he wasn't capable of playing in the big leagues like Adrian was.

"Would you both like to get dinner now that you're feeling better" asked Christian.

She shook her head, "no I think I'm going to call it a day. I just kind of want to lie around here and watch some TV. There's a lifetime movie coming on that I was told was pretty good, so I might check that out."

Christian laughed, "I didn't peg you as the kind to watch Lifetime."

"I'll watch anything as long as it's good."

"I'll text you later then Rose," he moved in and gave her a hug that she returned happily. "Adrian," he replied with a nod in his direction as he left the room. Adrian didn't say anything till he heard Cooper say his goodbyes and shut the door behind him.

"You could have hurt yourself today you know that don't you?" The harshness had fallen away from his voice as he crawled in under the covers with her. "I mean the dosages of tranquilizers you're on alone are enough to knock out an elephant, so adding alcohol to that could stop your breathing within minutes."

"I know," she replied flatly.

"You're feeling that way again aren't you?"

"You can't just tell?"

He laughed, "I'm still feeling the after effects of your hangover. I've not been able to read you all day."

"I'm just anxious that's all."

"Over what, this whole thing with Tasha or something else?"

"Yeah, just this stuff with Tasha. Not to mention I'm stressed over who I'm going to be assigned to. I just want a quiet job somewhere where it's not too cold. I mean I already have more monija marks than almost all the other guardians' individuals. I mean I don't even really feel all that much like a guardian since I never passed the final test."

"But you've been given your mark, how do you feel like you're not a guardian?"

"I know it's stupid I just feel like it's more complicated than that."

"I'm sure Kirova knew what she was doing when she let you out into the guardian world. I wouldn't stress over it little Dhampir."

"I guess you're right," she replied but with no confidence at all.

"Don't you know by now that I'm always right?"

She laughed, "Tell me what you and Cooper found out last night. I never got the chance to ask you."

He pulled her over to him allowing her to rest against his chest, "We weren't really able to get much done. I heard what she said to you thought. I wouldn't worry about it. There's no evidence that you two were ever together and if Tasha were to use Victor as a reference for her findings no one would believe her because it just wouldn't make sense. As much as I hate to admit it Belikov has become quite a popular guardian with the royals now that he's gone. They never realized what he was able to accomplish until now and many of them wish they would have had him assigned to them instead of Lissa."

"I get that part; I couldn't believe the amount of Moroi that were at his funeral I always thought that it would be just the other guardians. But then I guess I never really thought he was going to die. I thought he was beyond that." She sighed and he felt a bit of stress leave her body and enter into him. "I just don't understand why Tasha would want me to spy on you. There's no real benefit to her from me doing it because I mean what could you know that someone like Christian wouldn't know when it comes to what she's trying to accomplish."

"I can't remember if I've told you this or not, but I've been picked by the Queen to be the next in line. She tells me things she doesn't usually tell others and while there are things that Christian knows that the general population doesn't, I probably know a little more. I often wish she hadn't picked me. There's no real benefit to me from being picked, I don't want it."

"Then why don't you tell her that you don't want to be King?"

"Do you realize what would happen to me? She'd destroy everything that I've been able to accomplish."

"Couldn't you stop her or something? I mean why would she even care, it's your life."

"If I knew the answer to that question I'd tell you. She's hell bent on having me be the next King, but I don't think she'd like what I'd do once I got into court but I'm not going to tell her that until she makes that decision."

"What would you do?" She asked curiously. Rose seemed genuinely interested as she laid there in his arms, so he explained it some detail. Adrian told her how he wanted to make sure that the guardians were given a higher status among the combined community as a whole, explaining that the way things had been weren't working anymore and that unless they were willing to change they'd all die eventually. As a leader he would encourage the Moroi youth to learn to defend themselves if they wanted at first and as they integrated it into the curriculum but once it was in place he'd make it mandatory in all of the schools. If these changes went well he'd spend time setting up programs for the Dhampirs in order for them to go through treatments to overcome the compulsion they felt through blood drinking. He told her about the studies that were already being taken in order for these women to overcome the disorder but as of yet there had been no successful tests. There were other important things he went over and it felt good talking about it with her. Adrian was pleased to see that Rose had some ideas of her own and was willing to talk about them with him and debate over whether or not some of his major ideas should be implemented. They ordered some room service later that night and just spent most of the day in bed. Adrian hadn't been that happy in the longest time, he'd been happy the night before when they'd spent time together sexually, but this was different. He'd never really had a meaningful relationship before and was pleased to see that it was as good as he always thought it would be.


	11. Intermission

Hey Guys,

I'm sure you'll be upset to know that this isn't really an update. I just wanted to check in with you all and let you know that I haven't given up on this story. I'm graduating in a few weeks and I've been super busy with school and it doesn't look like that's going to change over the next few weeks. I wanted to take the time to tell you that I'm still working so don't give up! So yeah…if you have any comments just leave them in the reviews or PM me.

Sophie.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Sorry it's been forever since I updated. I've actually have had this chapter written for a while but it's been difficult to finish. Hope all is well with my wonderful readers and while this isn't the best chapter in the world the following chapters that I've started on are going to be making up for it. I should have them up pretty soon. I've missed all of you!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of this.

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**Chapter 11**

The next few weeks went by rather quickly. Adrian was kept busy with the Queen's work and Rose had finally started back training with the other guardians. There were a larger number of guardians in the castle now with the normal influx of new graduates which brought Rose out of her shell a bit. She was encouraged by their vigor and surprised by their numbers. There generally weren't this many graduates from what she'd heard and it made her happy to know that at least for now their numbers were on the rise. Rose tried not to think about who would be placed with whom and what that would mean for the Moroi as she focused on gaining speed and strengthening her muscles.

She often trained with Cooper, which worked out great because he had the same schedule she did given that he was her guardian. It also helped her because he was one of the best guardians in the castle and was able to train with her and not hinder her progress. However, when it came to accepting her challenge to a hand-to-hand fight he would always decline. Rose had grown accustomed to ending her training sessions with a brawl with whoever felt like fighting which had ended up being almost all of the guardians which surprised her. There was always some guardian who was looking to prove himself against her and from what she could tell, she truly was the best one out her age group. Many of the young men and women from her own school stayed away from her, having already shown that they were incapable of holding their own against her.

That day however, as Rose sat on the bleachers beside of Eddie she watched Cooper grapple with some of the other guardians. "I mean it's not like I'd take offense or anything if he beat me…at least I don't think so. But I just want to know why he won't fight me. I know it's not because I'm a girl because he says I can hold my own, but if it's not that I don't know what it could possibly be."

"Maybe he just doesn't want to hurt your pride. I mean look around, you've beaten everyone here myself included. I don't think he wants you to lose your place as top dog." Eddie had a point, but it wasn't good enough.

"I get that I really do, but they know I haven't fought him and I don't think they'll accept me as top dog until I do. I'll always be my mother's daughter or Dimitri's apprentice." Even as she said it, she knew it wasn't true. "I just wish there was a way for me to get him to do it without having to beg. I've asked him now for three weeks straight. Three weeks! I'm not used to this sort of stubborn persistence; usually they'd just give in by now."

"How long did it take for Belikov to agree to take you on in a fight?"

Rose smiled as she thought back to the night when she and Lissa had finally been caught and drug back to St. Vlad's. "You forget Eddie; I meet Dimitri in a fight."

"That's true, I did forget that. Why don't you just walk out there and call him a bitch. Better yet call his mother a bitch or a whore. Everyone's waiting for you two to fight anyways, this way it'll just speed things up."

She looked over at him shocked, "But you just said everyone didn't care that I hadn't fought him."

Eddie shrugged and looked away. "I lied, sue me but it's what'd I would do if I were you."

"Alright," she replied hesitantly. "But if he puts in for a transfer or serves my ass to me on a silver plate I'm taking it out on you."

"Sounds fair to me," Eddie replied with a smile. "Break his legs!"

She winked and strolled out into the middle of the floor where Cooper and two other guardians were standing talking after their wrestling match or whatever it was they had been doing. She smiled at the two nameless men but glared an icy-death glare over at Cooper. "You're a little punk ass bitch, you know that right?"

Cooper looked taken aback, "excuse me?"

"You heard me; I said you're a little punk ass bitch! You won't fight me and you know it's because I'll kick your ass for what you did to me!" She was yelling louder with each word. It felt good to let out her anger this way, even if it was just for pretend.

"I'm sorry I don't think I'm following Rose." She saw Eddie from over his shoulder, egging her to go on. The two men stepped away and gave some sort of pathetic excuse to leave the situation that was unfolding right before their eyes.

"Don't you dare think of playing stupid with me Cooper! What you said to me last night and what you really should have said are two totally different things!" She inched closer to him, poking her finger into his chest when she was but a few inches away.

"I know what you're doing Rose," he replied in a calm threatening voice.

She smirked, "you may know what I'm doing but there's not going to be a way out of it and I think deep down you know that."

"I'm not going to fight you."

She looked shocked and gasped audibly, "Fight me! You want to fight me, after all that we've been through. What about Adrian? What are you going to tell him, I knew I should have handled you when I got the chance."

"Don't let her talk to you like that!" yelled an anonymous voice from the audience that had now filled much of the outskirts of the gym floor.

Eddie pointed over in the direction of the voice, "That's my friend! Shut your mouth or I'll shut it for you!"

"Do you really want to do this?" Cooper asked her quietly. He looked so very serious, she didn't like him this way but she wanted to prove herself. Not so much for herself but for Dimitri. Rumor was that many Moroi said that between the two of them they were Dimitri's replacements but she wanted to see if that was true or not first hand. She couldn't think of anyone ever replacing Dimitri.

"More than you know," she said it more in a whisper than anything else but her point got across either way.

"Then let's do this. Although if we're going to do this we might as well do it properly, don't forget your stake, whoever has the kill shot first, wins."

"I agree to your terms. Lucky for you I've got my favorite stake with me today, it's never let me down.

Cooper laughed as he entered into the circle after her, taking off the sweatshirt he always wore when training he revealed the tight white undershirt that clung tightly to the muscles underneath. "I didn't want this to happen I just want that to be known before this goes down," he growled softly as he tossed the jacket over to the side of the ring.

"Afraid you're going to get beat by a girl?" She asked playfully getting into her fighting stance.

He flashed Rose a devilish grin, "I didn't want to see you have your ass handed to you."

"In your dreams," she spat back to him.

They bowed to one another and took their stance. Cooper didn't hold still long, and before she knew it he was coming at her in a rush. He wasn't as fast as Dimitri had been probably because he wasn't as well built for speed, but she wasn't thrown off by it. She dodged him by side-stepping his attack. Taking the defense again she crouched to observe his fighting style. He was circling around her looking for a moment to best attack. They seemed pretty well matched, he was taller than her but not by much and she was almost as strong as he was. He threw a punch but she ducked it, Rose tried to tackle him from her lowered position but he ended up grabbing her and flipping her over. They continued in this manner for quite some time: exchanging punches, kicks, and mindless banter but at some point she grew tired as though all of her energy had been drained from her body. Strigoi attacks generally weren't this long and her heart wasn't into it as much as she thought it would be now that she was actually fighting him. He hit her in the back of the head as she attempted to evade one of his sweeping blows. The force of it spun her around nearly knocking her to her knees. They'd been fighting for so long she was surprised they were still going. _How long had it been anyways?_ Her head hurt so bad she couldn't see the clock that hung on the opposite side of the gym, she squinted and was somehow able to see the swing before he made it but she still wasn't able to dodge it. She ducked in an awkward sort of way but was still hit. This time she made contact with the floor and wasn't able to get up. He quickly got the kill shot causing her down fall.

The other guardians in the gym were groaning and cheering all at once. It seemed that there had actually been people on her side but that didn't matter. What mattered was the splitting headache she had now and the scattered pieces of her pride that lay helpless on the floor beside of her. Eddie came over and helped her up on her feet. She looked around aimlessly for her stake and noticed it in Cooper's hands. She pointed over at him, "can I have that back?"

"What this?" He asked casually.

She rolled her eyes, as she pulled her hair up in a ponytail, "yes that please."

He smiled and went to leave, "not until you're able to get it from me yourself."

"You're a real dick sometimes you know that?" She couldn't believe she'd lost in front of everyone, but it's what she'd wanted wasn't it? She'd been begging him for weeks and this is what she deserved. She sighed heavily and walked over to Eddie. She was upset but didn't want to show it here. For once in her life, Rose Hathaway didn't want to let everyone know how upset she was. That would involve expressing the feelings she still harbored for Dimitri and she was with Adrian now. The guardians didn't need to know that because frankly it wasn't anyone's business but her own.

"Sorry you lost your bet." Rose replied sheepishly to Eddie.

"Hey no problem, I didn't put much down on this one cause I wasn't sure how it'd go." He patted her on the shoulder and helped her gather her things. "Need me to walk you to your room?"

"Nah, just tell Christian I said hello will you?"

Eddie nodded, "Sure thing, I'll catch you later."

With each step she took back to her room the anger grew. She heard the guardians talking about her as she walked by. It was like they didn't even care that she was standing right there hearing every word they were saying. Some even taunted her as she went by. It was kind of pathetic actually. All of this was all Cooper's fault, if he hadn't hit her in the head she'd still be out there. They'd been fighting for nearly an hour but that wasn't any excuse, "it's not like they'd have done any better."

When she got to their apartment she found Adrian busying himself with a rather old looking book. She didn't care enough to take the time to see what he was reading as she threw her bag down and walked into her bedroom. "Hello to you too," he called out to her.

Rose grunted in return.

"Why so angry little one?" asked Adrian as he walked into the room after her, draping himself over the side of her plush red velvet chasses.

"No reason," she grumbled at him. Slipping out of her trainers she walked over to her bathroom door.

"Come now love, I'm sure there must be something that's gotten you in such a fit? You've been so cheerful lately." He reached out to pull her over to him but she avoided his grasp.

"Don't even; I'm not in the mood Ivashkov. I want a shower and I want my stake back. Unless you can get me my stake back I don't need your help right now."

She noticed the way his eyes lingered over her body as he mulled over his words, "Well I'm not sure about the stake part but I could help you with the shower."

"Oh my God out, just get out. When I'm ready to see people I'll come find you alright? I just need some peace and quiet for two shakes of a stick."

Adrian began to laugh hysterically.

"You know why I'm mad don't you?" she spat over at him threateningly.

"In my defense it was because of rumors in the hallway."

"Oh please, you had money on it didn't you and someone called to collect?" She had been upset with Eddie, but Adrian too?

"You know the answer to that. I've made quite a large profit on you and I've given it all back spending it on you."

Her mood softened, "Have you really?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd be pissed if I kept it."

"How do you even make money, I don't even know what you do and I rarely see you working."

Adrian shrugged, "Good investments plus I own a company no big deal."

"That's all I am to anyone is a good investment," replied a now very sullen Rose.

"Not true. Although I don't see what's so bad about being a solid investment. It just means you're dependable."

"You wouldn't though," she replied with a sigh. "Won' you leave so I can shower? I've got to think of a plan to recapture my stake. It was my favorite or I wouldn't make such a big deal of it."

He stood up reluctantly from his previously comfortable position, "Aren't they all the same though?"

Rose wouldn't tell him how that particular stake had been given to her by Dimitri. Adrian closed the distance between them and embraced her in a warm and encouraging hug. "Cheer up, all of this isn't nearly as embarrassing as you think it is."

"Easy for you to say, it wasn't you out there getting wacked over the head by a bear dressed in human flesh." He laughed once more and kissed her on top of the head.

Before entering the shower, Rose watched Adrian as he left and double locked the door behind him. She wasn't sure why but she felt utterly alone in that moment but it was a similar feeling to when she was in the gym. She was ready to be out of the castle and out of the ever watchful eye of the queen's gaze. Even though she'd still be assigned to Adrian the reality of her situation wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Christian had stopped by a few times, each visit ending the same way. They would make-out for ten or so minutes at which point he'd become embarrassed and leave. Cooper always left during their time together, she knew that deep down that he didn't approve of Adrian, but to approve of Christian that was strange or at least to her anyways. She figured there was something to it all but she wasn't sure what it was yet. Maybe it had something to do with his aunt and knowing Christian was here Cooper was able to snoop around his room looking for clues.

The hot water coming from the showerhead felt relaxing against her body as she allowed the warm water to work its magic as it enveloped her in a steamy embrace. She missed Dimitri then as his smiling face popped into the void of her head. Rose thought back to the night they'd almost made love. The feel of him against her, holding her tight, feeling as though he'd consume her right then and there caused her heart to ache. She didn't allow herself to miss him often, Adrian would know and get upset so she busied herself washing and shaving her legs with a purpose. How was she going to bring down the mighty wall that was Cooper? "Hmmm… there has to be at least one loose brick in his defenses. I just haven't found one yet."

Lissa's ghost strolled into the bathroom as though she owned it and motioned for Rose to follow after her. Rose had just stepped out of the shower and forgot to grab a towel as she followed after Lissa's ghost naked. Lissa walked into Cooper's room and Rose followed still, leaving foot prints on the wooden floor. Rose flicked the light switch on not realizing anyone else was in the room.

"Can I help you Rose?" Cooper asked as he stepped out of his closet taking in her naked figure.

"Jesus Christ!" she screamed before bending down to cover her private bits. "I just…didn't know you were back yet. Sorry, I just…I'll just go back to my room now."

She heard him chuckle, "don't on my account. It was such a lovely view."

She peaked up, but kept herself hidden. _Thank you Lissa!_ Smiling, she stood up straight once more, "You think so?"

Rose could see his eyes darken even from where she was standing on the other side of the room. Cooper licked his lips and tossed the collared shirt back onto the ground of the closet, "I do."

She smiled and walked over to him, "I'll play with you if you do me a favor in return." Cooper brought his hand up and wound his fingers in her long, wet hair, "anything."

"Give me back the stake Guardian Belikov gave me and then we'll have some fun alright?"

Cooper moved back into his closet where he pulled out the large silver stake. "Well well what do we have here?" From behind her came Adrian's smooth voice. She grabbed the stake from Cooper's hand then turned to face him, "Adrian it's really not what you think."

"Isn't that just so very convenient for you?"


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N:** Yeah I'm really getting the feeling that the last chapter was a bust. I'm going to agree with you on that and just go on and pretend it didn't happen. I like this chapter because it's building up to what's going to happen and I'm excited to just be writing again. Writing that is something that I'm actually interested in. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend, I know I am. There seemed to be a little confusion about the whole Christian thing. That was mentioned previously in one of the chapters. It's more of a way to help Christian cope than anything else. It's harmless on Rose's part and mostly on Christian's as well. So no worries my dears.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this, but Cooper and he's a little punk-ass bitch.

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**Chapter 12**

Cooper's anger was audible in his voice as he began screaming at Adrian, "She seduced me Lord Dragomir, I had nothing to do with it!"

"Well you dirty little piece of shit! You can go to hell for all I care." Rose screamed back at him as she retreated to her room.

Rose slammed the door behind her as she fell back onto the bed. She had her stake back and that was all that mattered. She got up and put on some underwear and a t-shirt before hiding the stake in her underwear drawer. Adrian's voice came bellowing from the front room, "Look at whatever you like here and keep her safe but I swear on my life if I see you like that with her again I'll kill you myself."

"You couldn't Lord Dragomir," was all Cooper had to say for himself now that they'd been caught.

"Please do try anything you want to test that theory of yours won't you." Rose rolled her eyes and crawled back into bed hiding underneath the covers. She heard the door creak open but didn't move. "If you've come to lecture me about infidelity you're wasting your breath." Adrian crawled into bed beside her, pulling the covers from over her face. "Why exactly were you alone in that room with him?"

She peaked over at him, "Lissa sort of suggested for me to go in there at first. I didn't know he was even in there to be honest; I'd just gotten out of the shower so I hadn't heard him come in. When he saw me naked, I knew I could use it to get my stake back. I knew I couldn't beat him physically anytime soon and this was the only way that I thought I could get it back."

"How opportunistic of you," Adrian replied. It threw her off because he didn't seem angry or upset. "Did you at least get it?"

"You saw me; I was able to get it when you came in. It was enough to distract him."

He pulled her back over to him and kissed the top of her head, "that's my girl. There was a real reason I came back over here so quickly and I wanted to tell you in person rather than waiting to tell you later. I've got some business to attend to in St. Petersburg and I'm going to need you to stay here while I'm gone."

"What do you mean stay here? I'm finally assigned to you and I have to stay. Not only is it my job to go with you, but don't you want me to go with you anyways? Or are you already bored of me?" She looked over to him for some sort of reassurance.

"Never, but it's come to our attention that you've got a hit out on you and it's for your best interest that we keep you here for the time being."

"Is this your Aunt's idea?" Rose asked instinctively without thinking.

"No love, it was mine. It's for my best interest that you not go; I don't want to lose you or rather let me rephrase that I can't lose you. She'd probably be happy deep down if you got hit."

Her heart skipped a beat then started back, "But what if something happens to you? There's nothing worse than knowing you could have saved someone and you didn't, just because you weren't there."

"I don't doubt you, but you've got other things to worry about like Tasha's arrival. She'll be coming the day before I return. If you could just stay in your room the entire time I'm gone I'd be a happy man, but I know that'd be asking too much of you." He smiled before leaning in and kissing her. "Besides I'm a big boy and can handle myself."

"But I want to go with you."

His eyes were so troubled but he wouldn't budge, "I can't let you. You'll stay here and that's an order." Rose rolled away from him again. "Well if you put it that way Lord Dragomir, I might as well listen to you shouldn't I?"

"Rose that's not what I mean and you know it!"

She remained quiet for a while and thought things over until she finally decided to talk to him again. Rose sat up and tried to get comfortable but it wasn't working. She looked down over at Adrian as he played with the hem of her shirt. "Who do you think put a hit out on me?"

"I'm not sure, but once I find out I'll make sure they pay for it. I've employed some of my aunt's investigators to find out as much information as they can while I'm away but there's no guarantee that they'll find anything, no one's making a big deal about putting it out there. However, this shouldn't make you worry my dear, it shouldn't take them long to find out who did it and where we can find them."

"As long as you're confident I guess I am too," she replied still thinking. "You know I only did that whole thing because I saw Lissa right? I wouldn't have otherwise."

"Yeah you told me."

"But it's been longer than forty days this time, do you think she's stuck in limbo?" The thought upset her. Mason had moved on but Lissa wouldn't and she didn't understand why. She'd been avenged because the strigoi that had attacked were now dead but she was still there.

"Maybe, I mean it's not impossible but I don't think that's it."

"What do you think it is then?" Rose asked curiously.

"I think she's just a part of you now, I can see if I can find anything in the library at my parent's house if you'd like. They always liked the story of St. Vladimir and actually have a good bit on him."

"That'll be great, if you wouldn't mind. What are you doing over there anyways?"

"I'm hosting some diplomats at my family's estate. Let's not talk about it though. I'm dreading it enough as it is. Let me take you to dinner. We'll even leave the grounds if you want to."

His sudden change of subject had thrown her off, "Are you serious?" she exclaimed with a sudden burst of joy.

"As a heart attack," he replied with a smile.

Rose was so excited at the thought of getting out of the castle, even if it was only for dinner it was enough freedom for the time being. "What should I wear?"

"Anything you want to. Let me go make a few calls and we'll go." He gave her one last squeeze and went to get up but she stopped him. Rose leaned down and pressed her lips to his. "I love you," she whispered as she leaned back against the headboard.

"And I you Rose," with that he left. It didn't take long to get ready: hair, make-up, dress jeans, and a slinky-knit top and she was ready to go. She looked good enough to eat and hoped that would be happening sometime that night. Cooper even looked nice now that she wasn't naked as she emerged from her bedroom.

"No hard feelings?"

Cooper laughed, "I knew you'd get it back but I didn't think you had that in you."

"What? You mean the whole tease thing?" Rose couldn't imagine Cooper not knowing that she was at least a little skilled when it came to teasing, but from the look on his face he looked serious.

"Yeah, I thought you were more wholesome than that."

She couldn't help but laugh, "I guess I'm wholesome? However, I'm quite the pro at teasing to please in order to get what I want. I wasn't 'active' until recently so I had to do something to get my way."

"Interesting."

"I guess," she shrugged they walked out into the hall and began and waited for Adrian. He eventually came, followed by his usual group of guardians who seemed to make themselves busy 90% of the time they were together. "Everyone ready?"

"I know I am! I'm starving," Rose replied eagerly.

"Then right this way my little Dhampir." Adrian had called ahead and made reservations and had even gotten one of the town cars that sat waiting for the castle guests to use. It was bigger than a normal one, but still felt small with the amount of muscle in the back of the car.

"When do you leave for St. Petersburg?" She asked, leaning into him once they were all settled in. Adrian wrapped his pale arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"In the morning, sometime around 7:30"

Her heart sank, "so soon?"

Adrian nodded, "They'll be there the day after tomorrow and I'm sure I'll be up all night doing the finishing touches. Don't worry little Dhampir, I won't forget about you all the way across the sea."

"I'm not so worried about that. I'm sure they're just a bunch of old stiffs anyways."

He laughed, but remained silent as he continued holding onto her. Rose was a little scared to leave the grounds now that they were finally doing it. The reality of the fact that there was a hit out on her, and the thought of who might be willing to partake in her downfall was just disturbing. As she felt a swell of panic form deep in the pit of her stomach she thought back to the numerous attack's she'd witnessed over the past few months and wondered if her death would be something like that. Rose was also unaware of how the spirits would react when she went out or what Adrian might be able to do to help her if it got to be too much. The panic kept growing, flourishing within her in like great waves of emotions.

"Shhh…"he whispered into her ear as he bent his head down onto the top of hers. Nothing happened the entire time she was in the car. Lissa was in the car with them as usual, but that was more of a comfort than anything else. Adrian had decided to take them to this Chinese restaurant in town that he was fond of. It wasn't anything like what she was expecting but surprising it was delicious. The panda statues that filled the restaurant were a comforting sight. Something about the meal really felt natural, like this was where she was meant to be and looking at the others sitting around the table it was as if they all belonged there as well. The group was all seated at a large round table and had enough food in front of them to feed a small army. They ate and joked like they'd all been friends for years. It was just what they all needed. It appeared that Adrian had been working them all overtime, and for once they were all able to let loose.

Once they'd all gotten back to the castle Rose followed Adrian back to his apartment. As she sat there taking off her shoes, she watched as he poured himself a drink. He looked ragged and she imagined it was from being outside of the wards. She knew she hadn't felt anything but that had to mean that he was feeling all of what she normally would have. Rose instantly felt guilty for what she was doing to him. Being close to him as she was now, she wished she were capable of knowing what he was feeling like he was her and like she had with Lissa. Rose knew what it must have been like for Lissa all those years now that she was dealing with it with Adrian. Instead of saying anything to him about his drinking, she opened her arms to him and encouraged him to come over to her. She scooted back onto the bed allowing him to sit between her legs. Rose took the drink from his hand and sat it down on the bedside table so she could take his shirt off unhindered. She wrapped her arms around his body so she could reach the buttons that lined the front of his shirt, Rose was able to make short work of them and soon enough had the bare expanse of his shoulders sitting in front of her.

Rose started working the muscles of his upper body. She wasn't the best at massages but he was so tense and she knew what he must be feeling. She leaned in and kissed his shoulders, "tell me what's bothering you."

"I just don't want to go," he admitted.

"How long are you going to be gone?"

"Six days, but it'll feel like forever. You never know if they're going to extend their visit or what. It's just…" he sighed with frustration. "This is my mother's job, not mine but my aunt feels it will be excellent practice for me and I didn't want to influence her more than I have to so I'm stuck."

"It seemed that for a while there you had her in order," she observed.

Adrian smiled, "I could if I still wanted. She falls harder for my charm than anyone else I know."

"That's scary, if you ever do take her place who knows what you'll be capable of. It's getting late though Adrian and I should probably let you get some rest, I'm keeping you awake."

"If I had wanted to go to sleep I would have done so by now. Plus you're not leaving this room, I won't hear of it. I want as much rose-time as I can have before I leave." Adrian turned around in her lap and pinned her down to the bed.

"Oh yeah says who?" She challenged, giggling at his sudden burst of playfulness.

"I do," he half-spoke, half-growled at her.

They spent the rest of the night like this, playing with one another in an endless cat and mouse game. They fell asleep sometime around dawn, and when he woke up so did she. He was already packed, so she watched as he got dressed and ready and walked with him to the airplane. "Promise you'll keep me up to date on what's going on with you." She asked as one of his guardians took the carry on from his hand.

"I will, if you promise to do the same." Adrian pulled her close to him in a tight bear hug.

"Promise," she said but it was barely audible as her words got lost in the dark blue blazer her face was pressed up against.

"I've really got to go. Watch your back and really stay away from Tasha as long as you can. I love you."

Rose gave him one last squeeze goodbye, "I love you too."

He kissed her one last time before boarding the plane, "I'll be back before you even notice."

She smiled a fake smiled and waved at him through the window. Once her back was turned she let the anxiety of the next few days wash over her. "But not soon enough."


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter. Here's another update, I feel like things are easier to write now that I'm back in the swing of things. Hope that you enjoy it, if you read it please leave a review, I love hearing good things. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of this.

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**Chapter 13**

The breakfast hall was running full force when she entered. Rose had sent Cooper a text message to meet her there since she knew Christian wouldn't be up so early. He'd managed to get them a table and had already ordered her a glass of orange juice. They sat quietly for a while, before he broke the silence. "I'm sorry you were unable to go with Adrian. It would have been a nice distraction for you I'm sure."

Rose smiled, "it would have been but it's cool. There will be other trips were maybe I won't be the target of some psycho Moroi gone rabid."

He laughed, "Hopefully. I would have told you once I found out but he insisted on telling you himself."

She felt her phone go off insider of her pocket, it was a text from Adrian. _Just landed in Chicago. Changing planes. - A_

_Thanks, breakfast and contemplating going back to bed and staying there for a few days – rose_

"I can understand that," she finally chimed in once replying back to his text. "Adrian insists on a lot of things, especially when I'm involved but sometimes you've just got to do what you want to do."

"So I've noticed. I wasn't sure what you wanted so I didn't order for us yet."

"No worries, they're always a little slow this time of morning."

Our waitress, Cheri, was a donor and had been for a while according to the degree of scaring on her arms, neck, and legs. Rose was a little sickened by the marks, but knew she'd had them before and felt a bit hypocritical judging her. "Morning," she replied looking first at Cooper then to her. Cheri's face lit up with excitement, "oh my god, you're guardian Hathaway aren't you?"

Rose blushed and looked awkwardly over to Cooper. "Yeah but no one calls me that. Guardian Hathaway is my mother, I'm just Rose."

"You're like my hero! I've heard so many stories about how you've killed so many strigoi and then when your friends died, I'm so sorry about that by the way. Anytime you want a free breakfast you just come and get me okay?" She'd clearly had a few too many coffees that morning, but it was obvious that she was being sincere when she gave her condolences. "What will you guys have then?"

Cooper ordered chicken and waffles, and I got eggs over easy with toast and bacon. "I'll have that right out for you." She gave us one last bright smile and turned to leave.

Rose looked over to Cooper, "You didn't put her up to that did you?"

"No, why would I?"

She shrugged, "I don't know but I'm rarely anyone's hero."

"You don't hive yourself enough credit."

She thought that over for a second, "maybe you're right but I don't think I deserve to be anyone's hero after what's happened."

Breakfast came at warp speed. If anything, Cheri was a great server. "Can I get you anything else? Coffee, water, pie?"

"I think we're good Cheri, thank you."

"Don't worry about the bill, you've been taken care of. If you want to Rose, you should stop by sometime. I'm working in the morning but I have the afternoons free. We could hang out or something."

Rose smiled up at her, "Yeah that'd be great."

"Oh wow! That's awesome. I'll you then," she replied before smiling once more and turning to help another group of guardians.

"She's nothing if not persistent."

"I thought she was nice," replied Cooper.

"Nice? She wouldn't go for you Cooper."

"And you know this how?"

"You don't have fangs and go bump in the night." She brought her hands up and made some fake fangs with her fingers while making a sort of hissing sound.

"Yeah, well I could still try."

"mmmmhm and when you get rejected let me know how that worked out for you."

"Since when did you become the know it all of relationships?"

"I just know women Cooper, don't doubt me."

He laughed as she gathered her things. The two of them walked back to their apartments, stomachs full of warm food and the promise of another day. Once they got back inside, Rose attempted to get some more sleep but was unsuccessful. She'd gone into her bedroom when they arrived so she went to join Cooper who sat on the couch watching the Golden Girls on syndication.

"Cooper can I talk to you frankly about my situation?"

Cooper propped his feet up on the coffee table, "Sure, just let me turn the volume down." He felt around both legs until he found the remote and turned the television off. "What's your situation?"

"So it's like this…I'm concerned about my situation with Adrian. Not so much the romantic part, but the part where someone wants me dead. The thing about it is it's not just the one person that wants me dead, it's a whole group of people who want me dead. I just don't want to die; it doesn't bode well with my future plans."

"I see."

"What I'm saying is I just want to know what's going on in my life. I want to be able to help, I feel so stupid just sitting here on my ass all the time making googly eyes at Adrian. I know he wants me safe, but I can't take this anymore."

"That's just the thing, we don't really know anything about the hit. We know about Tasha because she's not been as secretive as she should have been about her movement. She wants you out of the picture just because you were with Dimitri and essentially cock-blocked her. Now that she's finding the others who are willing to take you out just for who you are, I think we're going to find it harder to get rid of her. While there are certain parts of her plan that is appealing to many of the younger Moroi, especially those who are not from prominent families, I think she'll still find it hard to overpower the Moroi who are in charge. From what we've gathered they're essentially forming a coup. Tasha's coming one last time to talk to Tatiana about her plans and ideas for the Moroi in the future and if she doesn't agree I think there might be a scuffle. With Adrian gone Tasha will find it harder to talk to Tatiana. Adrian's got some ideas that help Tatiana along but I'm just concerned, as well as several of the other guardians. I think your mother and several of the other royals guardians are coming back sooner than expected because of Tasha's decision to give the queen one last ultimatum."

Rose allowed this to sink in for a moment, "You don't think she'll turn if she doesn't get her way do you?"

"That's hard to tell. She clearly wants her agenda pushed, and we saw what happens when Moroi don't get their way with the whole Victor fiasco. I don't think she'll turn because I think she enjoys her life as a Moroi and she does truly seem interested in the fight against them. I just think she's going to physically attack the royals and make them fight her which she's counting on them not being able to do."

"Why would anyone want to do that? I mean it just doesn't make sense. I know about the problem, but there just seems like there should be a better way of going about things. This, whatever this is, that she's trying to do isn't working. I'd just hate for the whole restructuring idea to be ruined because she's too stupid to be in charge of it."

"There are many who would agree with you, but as for you. Don't worry, you're in good hands and believe me, there are more guardians watching your back that you know. Dimitri had a lot of friends and while he never formally admitted his intent for you, I think it was pretty obvious for the rest of us. The fact that he was willing to stick his neck out for you proved to a lot of us that you had a great deal of potential. I'm not new to the rodeo by any means, but I can tell you I'm honored to be watching you on such a close basis. Belikov was one of a kind, and I see a lot of him in you. So I wouldn't worry about the hit or who might be trying to take you out, because there are more people who want you alive than there are dead. Especially as long as you stay here, if that makes you feel any better."

She smiled and moved over to hug him, "Thanks you big oaf. I do feel better, but I'm not going to lie I'm still freaked out. I feel so on edge all the time."

"But that's not always a bad thing, it keeps you sharp."

"I guess, I just don't want to kill room service if he brings in my food and doesn't tell me he's bringing it."

They both had a laugh at that one. Cooper picked the remote back up and turned the Golden Girls on once more. "You know I really do love this show."

"Who is your favorite?" She asked curiously. Rose couldn't imagine anyone like Cooper being interested in Golden Girls. Rose had always associated it with old women in nursing homes and housewives who had nothing else better to do than watch television all day.

"I think I'm going to say Sophia. There's just something about her that I love. It's a sort of intensity in her personality that I really just love!"

"I wouldn't have guessed that, but I know what you mean." She stood up and stretched as if she were unfolding herself. "Alright, I'm going to try and go to sleep. Are you going to be hanging around here?"

"Yeah I'm waiting on some information about your hit so I'm going to be sticking by the technology until I get something worth sharing. Get some rest; I'll be here when you wake up."

"Thanks for having my back." With that she went back to her room. She grabbed her phone from her purse and looked to see if she had any messages. She didn't but decided it would probably be a good idea if she sent Adrian one.

_Trying to go to sleep again, will let you know how it goes once I get up – rose_

She slipped out of her jeans and shirt from the night before and crawled into one of her old sweatshirts and got under the covers. As soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep. She slept for a while before he found his way to her. But sure enough there he was, standing in front of her as if he'd never left. They were standing in the castle's courtyard right in front of the water fountain that functioned as the center piece and relaxation area for the queen's guests. "Well don't you look lovely?" He replied with a smile on his face.

Rose looked down at what she was wearing. He hadn't changed it and was surprised she was actually wearing the sweatshirt she'd had put on before. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the royals or something? You're just sitting around here invading people's dreams, it's not right."

"I could always leave if you'd like?" He replied with a smirk, as he walked closer to her. She breathed in the smell of him, his cologne hung to him like it always did.

"Please don't." He reached for her and pulled her over to him.

"Don't worry I hadn't planned on leaving. I've still got a few hours before our plane lands, we had a delay in Chicago due to some rain but I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you."

"Can't we go somewhere else? It's just I'm tired of seeing this place."

"Your wish is my command." She closed her eyes and there they were in his alpine escape. The wall of windows welcomed them as he encouraged her to come and sit with him on the floor. "Tell me what you've done thus far."

"Ate breakfast and talked to Cooper about some things."

"What sort of things did you discuss?"

"Well…we talked about Tasha and we talked about you and me and just things."

He sighed, "That tells me absolutely nothing."

"We just talked about what he's been able to find out about Tasha and what that means for me. You know nothing too serious. Apparently he's waiting on some intelligence from some of the other guardians."

"I know what he's waiting on I'm just surprised he told you."

"Well I finally asked him, I guess it never dawned on me to ask him because I thought you'd tell me."

He looked over at her with concern, "It's not that I didn't want to tell you. I simply wanted to be completely sure of all the information that I was sharing with you. I didn't want you to have to worry over something we weren't sure about."

"I still would have liked to have known." She said with an edge in her voice that she hadn't meant to be there. "I just, I just want to know so you're not doing all of this on your own. You've got so many other things to worry about than me I want to be able to take care of myself."

"But you're the only thing I care about right now."

"Exactly, that's my point. I'm the only thing you care about right now, what about later? You've got your whole life to worry about. I know you want me in it, but I need to do this."

"I just can't let you do it alone."

"But we're always alone."


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Wow, it's been honestly too long since I've wrote anything to do with this! It makes me sad to think that I've let it go, but a lot has happened during my summer and not all of it has been good. I'll update this when I can and I'm glad to see that there are still some people around. I feel like this chapter isn't the best but I hope that I can get back into the swing of things. I'm going to re-read all of the chapters so that I can make it better for you guys. Thanks for hanging around I really do appreciate it!

xoxo – Sophie.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of this.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"You know I don't want to be alone." Rose replied with a frown. "I've never wanted to be alone, I just want to be in charge or at least aware of what's going on in my own life. Maybe I've just let you take charge of things for too long because I've been so confused. I just feel so lost Adrian that I don't even know how to put it into words. Even as I've spent all this time with you I just…I feel so empty. I know why people would want to have me killed, but it's of no real concern to me. Maybe I'm depressed? Do you think that's just it? That I'm depressed and I've let you take care of things? That I'd be happier and know more of what was going on if I wasn't depressed?"

"Maybe, but I wasn't just taking care of you because I thought you were depressed."

"But I don't want you to. At least be willing to help me. Oh I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, I just wish Lissa were here, alive and well and not how she is now. I wish Dimitri were here too so he could take care of Tasha and you and I could just be."

"How exactly would we be?"

She'd never really spoke what she thought about their future besides wishing to be his guardian now. What would she say? She had feelings for him yeah, but was afraid to say anything about what she wished to know. Should she bite the bullet and just tell him? Rose looked over at him all blue coats and brown hair. She wanted to fall into him and as the thought ran across her mind she sighed, "We would be a couple, more than we are now…"

"Married?" He looked over at her curiously.

"What did you say?"

He sat staring at her, stone-faced, "I said would we be married?"

Rose cleared her throat as she felt herself start to blush, "well I guess, if you asked me and I agreed to it. But then we'd also have to get the ok or hell if we just went ahead and did it but yeah, maybe."

"Hmm…I'll have to keep that in mind." Adrian reached out for her, grabbing hold of her feet and pulling her over to him. She slid easily across the floor as the pillow drifted over the marble floors. "Is this the only room in this place?"

"No, but it's my favorite. It's much more comfortable than the bedroom."

"You have a room in your house that's more comfortable that your bedroom? I don't believe you!"

He planted a kiss on the bottom of her foot, "well you should. I'd never lie to you."

"I love how you just glazed over everything that we were just talking about like it didn't just happen."

He smiled down at her, "you're asleep what would be the point? Besides, I'm allowing the information to sink in. You've given me quite a lot to consider my love."

"Consider away then, by all means." He smiled down at her as he bent her knees and crawled in between her legs, wrapping them around his waist. "Oh I will."

"What are you doing?"

"Shhhh…" he replied bringing a finger up to her lips. "It's a secret." Soon her sweatshirt was gone without either of them removing it.

"Unfair!"

"Hardly, you were the one sleeping in it. Teasing a man so, you shouldn't do that."

"You nosey, little cheater!"

Adrian smiled, "Better than a sore loser!"

"The least you could do, is take your jacket off. I am being held against my will here half naked on a cold floor." She replied coolly up at him.

"Nope, not until you give up the goods."

"I'm not having dream sex with you creeper," she replied sticking out her tongue.

Adrian shrugged, "Whatever, you're about to wake up soon anyways."

"And you know this how?" she asked curiously.

"Call it a sixth sense."

But before she could say anything, Rose woke with a jump. It took her a minute but she began to recognize Cooper's light rasp on the door. "Rose? There's someone here to see you."

"Give me a second alright?" she mumbled as she rolled out of bed.

"Alright," Cooper turned to shut the door.

"Hey Cop?"

"Yeah," he asked in reply.

"Who is it?"

"Christian Ozera."

"You find anything out yet?"

"Strangely enough, yeah I did."

"Awesome. Ok tell him I have to get dressed ok? We'll talk about this later?" She was instantly awake, the thought of new intel excited her, but she'd have to get rid of Christian as soon as possible.

"Sure thing," he replied with a smile as he shut the door behind himself.

A cold air blasted her skin as she walked over to where the thermostat was. She turned the air up in her room surprised that it had gotten so low. _Maybe ghost Lissa likes it cold like the ghosts in the movie?_ The thought weirded her out as she put on the jeans from the night before. She looked rough but she didn't care. Rose ran a stray hand through her hair and smiled at her reflection. "I guess this is as good as it gets." She thought she could shower but it wouldn't be worth it, she did however go brush her teeth and threw on a layer of chapstick.

Rose soon emerged barefoot and haggard to meet Christian. He looked clean, in a pair of skinny black jeans and a black The Strokes t-shirt. Walking over to him, Rose embraced him in a warm hug as he kissed the side of her head.

"You didn't let me know you were coming. I would have gotten up and showered."

"I thought you'd be awake by now." He looked at her appearance, taking her in making her feel self-conscious. "Adrian isn't here is he?"

She shook her head, "not at the moment. We parted ways earlier this morning; he's doing some diplomatic work for his aunt."

"And you didn't get to go with him?"

"Does it look like I got to with him," she replied sarcastically.

He laughed as he looked her in the eyes, "No I suppose not."

"What brings you to mi casa?" she asked spreading her arms out encouraging him to take a seat.

Unsurprisingly, Christian sat down on her couch so she opted to take the chair beside it to avoid any uncomfortable situations. "Eddie wants to go to some pool party and he wants you to come with us."

Rose looked over to Cooper, who was pretending to read that day's Moroi newspaper. "I don't know if I should."

Christian looked taken aback, "What do you mean you don't know if you should?"

"It's just I have a lot of work I need to get done tonight and I don't know if I'm going to be able to go with you. I would have got it done this morning but Cooper and I had a lot to do last night getting Adrian ready for his trip."

"So you sacrificed your health for him again? You've been so under the weather lately; he should have been more considerate and packed beforehand." Christian seemed upset that she'd declined his offer, and the old Rose began to show her head.

"Look here mister! It's my job to take care of Adrian, my health is of little concern in comparison to his life and besides, I've been doing much better than I have lately, and maybe it's because some people very close to me have died lately. I'm suffering from bereavement, I thought of all people you would understand what it's like to lose someone you care about."

"I do, you forget they were my friends too. I just think you should have a little fun that's all; I mean seriously, what's one little pool party going to hurt you? Nothing! You can get all of your paperwork, or whatever excuse it was that you gave me done. If you just didn't want to be seen with me you could have said so."

"Jesus that's not even it, I've gone plenty of places with you Christian or have you already forgotten that?"

"No, but I really want you to go tonight!"

She huffed, "I thought it was Eddie who really wanted to go."

"He does, but I thought it might be a nice change for us."

"Mr. Ozera," Cooper replied casually. "I'll help Rose get her work done as soon as possible and we'll meet you there later on in the evening how about that?"

Christian looked over at him. Cooper had placed the newspaper in his lap and dawned his serious face. Rose often described this face as something that would insight fear into even the most wicked strigoi to walk the earth. Christian knew he'd hit a brick wall and Rose watched as frustration spread across his face.

"That will work, just as long as you can come I'm sure Eddie and I will both be pleased. You know Cooper, she could come on her own?"

"I can't allow that to happen, you see I'm her guardian where she goes so do I." Rose almost laughed as she watched him talk, his face barely moved when he had his serious face on but he sounded the same. He was so weird.

"Rose is truly lucky to have you, I think my aunt is looking for a new guardian, I'm surprised she'd not tried to get you being the best and everything."

"Who says I didn't turn her down?"

"HAHAHA, well this is getting a little to tense for me. So we'll see you later then?" She asked Christian as she stood up to walk him to the door.

"Yeah sure, see you then."

He went to hug her and kissed her gently on the cheek.

She shut the door behind him, giving him a few seconds to clear the hallway before turning around to Cooper. "You know I shouldn't have to take that crap from him. I get it enough from you and Adrian."

"Don't worry about him; we'll just make our appearance later. I'm surprised at how persistent he was."

"Me too, he's never like that with me. Well I mean he used to be, but lately he hasn't been. You don't think it has anything to do with his aunt do you?"

"No, there's very few correspondence between the two of them. They e-mail one another, mainly from their blackberries. But it's always just to check in with each other and make sure they're alright. She treats him as though he were her own child now that his parents are no longer with us." He pulled out a packet of papers from behind the bar and walked over to the couch spreading the contents of the envelope on the table before them. "Come and take a look at this."

Rose sat on the floor in front of her. There were pictures and conversation printouts, all of which involved Tasha Ozera. She picked up a group of photographs that showed Tasha showing a recent picture of Rose to what could only be a strigoi. The fact that she was willing to stand so close to something as wild as that showed just how far she was willing to go. Maybe the Moroi she was talking with wasn't a strigoi and just appeared that way because of their unkempt appearance, either way it was still more than she could handle. "Alright please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

"Those gems were taken not long after Tasha found out that there was a hit out on you. How she found out so quickly we still haven't been able to trace, but that man was looking for her in relation to you not long after she found out."

"What's his name?"

Cooper pulled out an index card that was hiding under some of the correspondence, "his name is Alexander Cortez and we're not really sure what he's doing why he sought her out. He is reported to be a United States citizen but he also has ties to groups in Portugal and Russia."

"I imagine he's got something to do with the hit out on me? Like he's contacting one of the many people who seem to hate me in order to get close to me? I mean that's the only thing that makes sense to me."

"You're probably right but I don't want to put too much stock into that. It might actually be that she's put the hit out on you. But we don't know that for sure. It would seem that like I said earlier she's just trying to find other people like her, but it bothers me that we can't pin the source."

"I'm sure we'll find out sooner or later, we always do."

He sighed, "but I'd rather it be sooner rather than later."

"So I guess we're really going to this party? I really don't feel like leaving this room knowing that at any point I could be shot or bleed or whatever it is these people want to do to me." She crawled out of the floor and onto the chair.

"I guess so. It's important that we act as if we don't know. That's what are orders are anyways. I don't even know if I have a bathing suit."

She laughed, "What did you do leave it on your mothership?"

"Very funny, I'll go look."

She smiled, "Good! I'll get take a shower and get ready to go."

* * *

The party was at the aquatic center on the castle grounds. Rose had decided to wear her one piece and a dress that covered her entire suit. She was frustrated that she even had to make an appearance but Cooper was right when he'd told her in order to keep up appearances she would have to go. Cooper's board shorts were covered in bright pink flamingos. It was hilarious to imagine someone as fierce as Cooper to wear flamingos out in public. "I'm going to check the perimeter," he replied before quickly fading into the crowd.

Guardians and Moroi alike were jumping in and horse playing with one another. There were even a few donors in the crowd as she took a closer look at the people who surrounded her. As she took a step forward a pair of cold, wet hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who," Christian whispered warmly against the back of her neck.

"Fang boy?"

"That's right Dhampir, I was afraid you weren't coming."

The smell of booze wafted over her. He'd been drinking and it became not only a question of how much he'd been drinking, but how long she'd be able to stay before it was too late for her to escape without a scene. Rose turned around and took in his eyes, "Sooo….tell me, how goes it?"

"Better now that yooooooooou'rrrrre here. Do you know how terribly boooooooooring this party has been without you?"

She laughed weakly, "Oh I can just imagine."

"Did you get your work done? You know the whole naughty secretary thing would be way hot for you. Or maybe a teacher, teachers are hot with their short skirts and long rulers." His hands began drifting up her dress and moving a bit too closely to the hem of her bathing suit.

"Whoa there Christian, not in public alright, I'm still with Adrian."

Christian scoffed, "Adrian Shmadrian, he's not even here."

"But that doesn't mean he doesn't know what you're doing."

Christian began laughing, "What does he have watch dogs here or something?"

"What do you think Cooper is?" she pointed over to him, watching from the opposite side of the room.

Christian mumbled something in Russian she didn't quite understand. But didn't seem deterred, "come have a drink with me."

"I don't really feel like a drink right now, maybe we can find a place for us to be somewhat alone?"

"Sure wait here, I'm going to get a drink I'll be right back." Christian left and Cooper was instantly at her side.

"Take him to one of the side pools, this pool hall is based off of the one at the ski resort you went to I can't even think of what it's called. Do what you have to do with him, Adrian is aware of the situation and has given you permission to do whatever it takes to keep you alive."

"But Christian's not…"

"But he knows Rose."

She looked up at Cooper upset. "Fine, tell him if you're in contact with him that I'm sorry it's come down to this."

"He really does understand Rose, he's a smart guy."

"I can't do this Cooper, even if this is the plan I just I can't do this to him."

The heat of the pools was getting to her. She hadn't had a drink but she could smell the alcohol lingering in the air and it was making her dizzy. "You have to."

"Fucking hell."


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **I'm not really sure how you're all going to take this chapter either. I'm glad to see however that there are still some of you out there reading this. It pleases me, and I'd love to hear any positive thoughts you have about it. The next chapter will be from Adrian's point of view. I hope things are coming along nicely but I'm still not sure. This is usually the spot where I give up on a fic and it never gets finished, but I'd really like to finish this one! It's my goal. So enjoy this. It's not so much dialogue as the last few chapters have been so it seems like there's a lot more to it when there really isn't I don't think. It is a little lengthy though, so get cozy! XOXO – Sophie.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own any of this. I simply just work with what was given to me.

* * *

**CHAPTER 15**

_I shouldn't be okay with this; I know I'm not okay with this._ Rose was muttering to herself internally. She only had a few seconds to imagine what alternatives she might have at her disposable, besides the inevitable "whoring" herself out. Her mind was in a state of panic though, so her choices were limited.

Christian was by her side once more, wrapping a stray arm around her midsection, "So those pools you were mentioning, I was able to obtain us one if you're still interested." He waved a spare key in her face before taking a sip of his martini.

Rose smiled through clenched teeth, "I'd love to."

He guided her coolly through the masses of bodies. Boys and Girls had apparently come from everywhere to be at this party. Some royal was having a birthday, but Rose hadn't been interested enough to ask whose birthday party it was. Christian was so pale he was practically glowing in the dim lighting that surrounded them. She wasn't as tan as she used to be, but she wasn't as ghastly as he was either. Her mind drifted to Adrian and she wondered what he might be doing. Russia seemed so far away and she wondered if he had made it there yet. He had to be there by now she thought confidently to herself. Rose wondered who it was that he was entertaining for his Aunt, how old they were and if they were younger if they had brought a young and tempting royal daughter with them. The thought made her feel deflated and alone as she followed after Christian into a nearby room.

This room was much smaller than the main pool hall. This room was small and looked more like a cave than anything else. The walls were covered in a stone like material with patches of moss on the ground that crept up the walls, in the corner there was a waterfall that dripped casually into the steaming hot Jacuzzi that was built into the center of the floor. It was clearly the centerpiece of the room. Even the door that she watched Christian shut behind them was seemingly built to look like part of the rock face.

"Do you like it?" Christian asked, groping his way around to the side of the pool.

"It's absolutely beautiful," she replied with a sigh. _I just wish I were here with Adrian and not you._

Christian stepped into the pool ad placed his martini glass on one of the built in drink holders in the rock face. He turned and faced her, beckoning her to join him. He outstretched his hands and wiggled his fingers, enticing her in the best way he could to reach out and grab them. Rose slipped out of her dress and threw it onto a dry spot in the corner of the room. He seemed upset that she wasn't wearing a bikini when she turned to face him but he still welcomed her nonetheless.

The water was BOILING! Her skin grew ten shades pinker than normal; she could barely tolerate it at first and wondered how Christian had been able to take it as long as he had. "So tell me Christian, what were you doing before I got here?"

"Drinking, I honestly didn't think you would be able to come. That oaf of yours is slavish. You need an Eddie."

She sat a good distance away from him once she finally got into the water completely and settled herself in. Rose stretched her legs out in front of her and played with her toes in the bubbly-hot water. Every now and then she would allow her toes to just break the surface of the water and wiggle them around. "He's not so bad really and no more strict than Dimitri was. I just didn't listen to Dimitri as much.'

Christian went to grab her feet but only caught one successfully, "Why do you listen to him more?" He asked quite curiously for the state that he was in. His fingers were warm, but that could have easily been explained by the water, but it was a different kind of warm. Rose wondered if he caught fire when he got really excited and almost laughed at the thought.

"Probably because of everything that's happened, and he's always been open and honest with me. That's something that I really respect so I'm more apt to listen to him if he's going to treat me like an adult."

It was Christian's turn to laugh, "Well that's one thing I'm sure Adrian doesn't do for you." Not only were his fingers warm, but intoxicating as he worked them methodically over the pads of her toes, the arch of her foot, as well as the lower portion of her calf. Rose was a sucker for a good massage but she needed to stay in the here and now.

"So, Adrian tells me what I need to know when I need to know it. There's no reason to gang up on him just because he isn't here right now." She replied defensively.

"I'm not, simply stating facts." He replied with a shrug bringing her leg out of the water to have a nibble on her big toe. "You know that your room is bugged right?"

Rose stiffened, "Excuse me?" He'd said it so nonchalantly she'd almost mistook him at first.

"I said that your flat has a bug in it. I could hear the frequency when I was in there this morning, but I couldn't quite make out its location. It was either in your den or your bedroom, I know for a fact that it wasn't in Cooper's room, I'd made a conscious effort to listen when I'd walked by it."

"Will you help me find it later?" She asked with a bit too much edge in her voice.

"Sure thing," he replied before planting a kiss on the bottom of her foot. "I'm sure it's just Adrian, no need to be so scared."

Rose smiled encouragingly, "I'm sure you're right." She moved over to him, and grabbed his glass taking a sip once more before bringing it up to his lips and pouring it into his mouth. Rose tilted his head back as she watched him finish the drink off. Christian grabbed hold on her arm, pulling her on top of him easily in the water. She positioned herself so that she wouldn't be right on top of him, but it was hard to do without being obvious.

"There that's better," he replied with a smile as he grabbed hold of her hips planting her down as far as she would go. Her attempts had been useless after all but if she thought enough of Adrian she could make it through this. Rose wrapped her arms around Christian's neck and leaned into his ear.

"I brought something to spice up the evening," she'd hidden this little trick even from Cooper when they were getting ready because she thought it might come in handy if she'd need to drug anyone. Reaching down in between her breasts she pulled out a small container and held it out in front of her in order to entice him.

"What is it?" He asked curiously.

"It's a Percocet if you're interested." She'd gotten the prescription at one point or another from a doctor who took pity on her and her situation as a guardian. She'd never taken one, rather opting to feel in the pain in order to grow accustomed to it. Christian brought a wet hand from out of the water and gladly took the small pill from her.

"I didn't think you did this kind of thing?"

Rose shrugged as she cheeked her pill instead of actually swallowing it, before placing the container back into its confines. "Sometimes I will, when I want to let go."

"hmmm well whatever makes you do it I'm happy."

Rose smiled and leaned back into the water, leaving her legs wrapped around his waist using it as a sort of makeshift anchor. She pretended to be wetting her hair as she spit the pill out of her mouth underwater. Rose pulled herself back up, as Christian brought his hand up in order to move the hair from her face with some difficulty.

The drug would take a little while to kick into his system, at which point he would probably be so high she could get him to do whatever she wanted him to do. She started squirming around on his lap, teasing him as she kissed him. Rose figured if she could play with him at least 20 minutes without anything really happening she'd be alright. In the short span of time they did just about everything they could have without actually having sex. Christian sure enough was growing weaker and weaker as they continued but he really did seem to be having a good time. When he eventually whispered that he loved her against the bare skin on her neck she knew it was time to stop. Rose stood up in the middle of the small pool and pulled him up to the side of it.

"Christian I need you to tell me everything that you know about this party, and I don't mean whose it is and what we're celebrating. I mean the nitty gritty of it. I know Eddie wouldn't have brought you here without knowing everything about it first right? That's how Eddie is, and the thing about you is you wouldn't have come without knowing what he knew too."

Christian gave her a goofy smile, "How did you know?"

"Why don't you call it my womanly intuition, but I mean it Christian. It's important for you to tell me what you know." Rose was still in the pool as she placed her hand gently on the side of his face to ensure he stayed awake.

"There's this neat tunnel system they use to get around. We passed the door when we walked in here and you didn't even notice."

"Who uses them Christian?"

He leaned in a kissed her on the nose, "the servantsssssssssss."

She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight squeeze. "That's exactly what I needed to know, thank you."

"Iz tell yous again I get hug?" His speech was blurring together, but he was doing a good job at holding onto to his consciousness but she could tell it wouldn't last much longer.

"Sure," but before he had a chance to do it she just hugged him. He was flushed against her skin that despite the warmth in the room was covered in Goosebumps. If Rose were Spiderman she could have said that her spidey-senses were bothering her, which in fact they were.

"I need you to be quite and lay here alright," she whispered into his ear. He nodded in the affirmative and started sucking his thumb. It took every fiber of her being not to laugh at such a cute picture. Getting out of the pool and walking to the door took more courage than she thought it would. She cracked the door open and looked both ways. Rose failed to spot anyone she knew and quickly made her way into the service entrance. There was a couple staff members gathered around a table that was filled with several different alcoholic beverages. One older staff member saw her entrance and walked over to her.

"Is there something I can get for you ma'am?" asked the kind-eyed old man.

Rose looked as innocent as she could before speaking, "I'd hate to be a bother but is there any way that I could get two sets of your uniforms? It seems that my escort and I have had a little too much to drink, and being who he is I don't want him to be seen in public in the current state that he is in. I can take care of him but I'd like to hide his identity as best as I can."

The older man looked concerned and showed her to the closet where they kept a few extra smocks. "Take these, leave them for the maid service and they'll be returned here. Come back and we'll show you the way out alright?"

She smiled a wide eyed smile, "Thank you so much sir! I really do appreciate your help!"

Obtaining the uniforms had been a million times easier than expected. Getting him dressed wasn't so difficult but getting him out of there without Cooper noticing was going to be harder than she might imagine it would be. She'd spotted him in one of the pools in the main room observing when she had come out of the kitchen with their close, and there wasn't any guarantee that he would still be there when they exited but it was still possible. If she could just make it to the service door without him noticing he would assume that they were still in there.

"Christian I need you to get up now," she whispered into his ear from where he was laying on the floor.

He mumbled something but opened his eyes and attempted to stand. Rose helped him to his feet and wrapped his arm around her neck. She cracked the door open and didn't see anything so she crept out of the room once more, making sure to shut it tight behind her. No one came rushing at them as they made their way into the kitchen.

"He is quite the mess isn't he?" replied the older gentleman.

Rose laughed, "He doesn't drink much and with the heat of the pools I think he's just having a hard time holding onto his liquor." There were some other people in the room who seemed a bit more suspicious of her as they cut their eyes in their direction but they stayed quiet and went about their business. The tunnels were interesting, nothing more than a bunch of hallways that made a little network, when they finally reached the end of the maze Edgar wished them luck as Rose stood attempting to gather her surroundings. They weren't near the entrance of the party but the other side of the building, closer to Christian's room. She rummaged in her pocket and pulled out his keys that had been in his bathing suit pocket. Rose was half carrying him, half dragging him down the hallway as she sat him in front of his door and opened it. She wasn't sure who or what might be in there so she snuck in as quietly as possible. Checking all the rooms she finally made her way to Christians and gathered a few spare changes of clothes. In Eddie's room she had pulled out a bug detector. It was one of the many James Bond-esque tools that Eddie had gotten upon graduating and she figured she needed it right now more than he did.

When she returned to him he was exactly in the same position as he had been when she'd sat him down. "Looks like no one tried to take you from me." She replied with a smile and picked him up once more. It was harder now with the addition of even more clothes, but she was managing just fine.

Her room wasn't far, but it was farther than she would have liked. "Christian," she whispered against his ear.

"Huhhh?" he murmured.

"I need you to stay as quiet as possible. No noises no nothing, no one must know we came here alright?"

He squeezed her hand as she sat him down once more. This time she left his things with him and picked up the device. She turned it on before entering the room scanning the hallway for any signals that might be picking up their presence. Nothing registered. She sighed heavy before slipping through the door. It was dark as she checked the underside of each of the surfaces in the room. She found one transmitter underneath the bar and one on the back of her headboard. She was able to disengage both without making too much of a fuss. She knew now that they weren't going to be able to get far without someone coming their way.

Rose grabbed a few spare clothes and the emergency key to Adrian's apartment. She wasn't afraid to make a little noise now that she had found out where the devices were and was running recklessly around her apartment. Even running the risk of Christian's capture by leaving him in the hallway, but this was far too important a mission to have him ruining it in a drunken stupor. She grabbed a few of the basics; throwing them into a spare duffle bag she generally kept her things in, as well as her cosmetics kit. It wasn't much: toothbrush, toothpaste, hair brush, mascara, etc. She'd learned early on to always keep them packed. Rose could hear Lissa in her mind_; it's just easier this way._

Lissa had been surprisingly absent as of late. Rose wasn't sure what she was doing, or where she was doing it, but she felt certain that even in that moment, Lissa was still there with her. Rose didn't zip it back up until she got into the hallway. Even then she was certain she was being watched by whoever it was that bugged her room. She threw the bag over her shoulder and continued on her way. Adrian and Christian were about the same size, but the difference was significant which was why she hadn't just let him wear Adrian's clothes. Rose was unsure that they should hide in Adrian's room considering it would probably be the first place they looked but it was the only place she knew to go.

The thing about Adrian's room that she hadn't told even Cooper was that it was a panic room and could be locked down completely should the moment ever arise. It was a feature not often found in the castle's walls but a convenient one that the queen had added for certain guests. It was her way of ensuring that certain royals were able to obtain the extra security measures they needed in order to continue their blood lines. Adrian being her own successor had the safest room besides the queen's own bedroom on the grounds. As she allowed Christian to fall haphazardly on the floor she checked under tables and countertops for any hidden appliances that might have been hidden in the room. She didn't find any and allowed herself to feel at least a little more at ease.

Rose tossed the bag of their stuff on the couch and went to set the alarm. She was banking on the absentmindedness of the security guards to allow the room's lock-down mode to go undetected. This was an extreme risk that she was taking, but she felt confident that their location was secure for the time being.

She hated the fact that they had to resort to hiding in such a way as they were. Rose felt a deep sadness as she walked over and picked Christian up off of the floor, carrying him into the spare bedroom. She slipped off his shoes and unbuckled his pants. He was more than likely going to get sick in a little while so she decided it was best not to change him completely just yet. She walked back into the front room and put on her own change of clothes. The hoodie she'd been wearing when Christian had come to her apartment just hours prior was her only comfort at the moment. Pulling the desk chair over to beside his bed she waited patiently for him to either suffer from a hung over from hell or for him to just sleep it off. As she waited she began to cry, something she didn't usually do and soon found herself asleep, resting her head in the blankets that covered both Christian and the sorrow she felt about her situation.


	17. Apology

Hello Subscribers,

I would really like to thank each and every one of you who have read and left comments on this story. I have been busy with family illnesses as well as graduate school which posed to be more challenging than I thought this first semester. I believe that with my first semester under my belt that I will be able to handle the next semester with some ease. I'll be picking up with my story again after I read it. I feel I need to familiarize myself with the premise even if I have written down what I wanted to happen over the rest of the story. I hope you'll bare with me and stay tuned! - Sophie


	18. Chapter 16

**A/N:** Why hello there! This chapter is mainly from Adrian's perspective. I hope that you enjoy it. It really doesn't add to the storyline of Rose, but it will help you understand some of what is going on. If you have any questions about anything I'm happy to answer them. Sorry for the delay. Now that it's finished it may not really make sense and may be complete shit so if it's bad which I think it is, don't tell me just be like oh…and wait for the next chapter. Thanks. XOXO - Sophie

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of these characters, scenes, or settings.

* * *

**Chapter 16**

The last of the finishing touches had been made to the house as his guests pulled into the driveway. Adrian stood guarding the front door ready for an ambush should one be waiting for him as the car made its approach. The thought of an impending ambush was pushed aside as the side door of their town car opened to a tall, fat man. Mr. Nosova emerged first, followed by his wife and their flighty daughter. Mrs. Nosova was a great deal younger than her husband, but their lifestyle had caused her to turn prematurely gray. From what his intelligence had been able to collect was that this was his only living child. His wife had given birth to a son who had died not long after his birth due to complications. Mr. Nosova was a small arms dealer, mainly in Russia but was looking to expand his operations to America, regardless of the fact that he was millions of dollars in debt. His wife loved to spend money that they didn't have, while their daughter brought in fewer and fewer dollars each year she aged.

"Mr. Ivaskov, what a pleasure it is to make your acquaintance. My name is Rupert and this is my lovely wife Carolyn and out daughter Natasha," replied Mr. Nosova as he bowed to greet Adrian.

Adrian extended a hand to the elderly man before bowing to the two women. "It's a pleasure to welcome you to my family estate. Your visit here has pleased both me and my aunt the queen."

"We were so pleased that the Queen was willing to part with your presence even for such a short period of time to spend time with us," replied Carolyn.

"Too be honest I am surprised she so casually dismissed me as well, usually she parts with me on great effort of will. You will of course come inside; it's rather cold this time of year." Adrian stood waiting as each of the guests entered into the main entrance before closing and locking the door behind them.

"It took you some time to get here didn't it? So you must be hungry? Sebastian here will show you to the dining area where you may eat and refresh yourselves. I know that dawn is soon to be approaching so I'll leave you feast before escorting you to your rooms."

Mr. Nosova thanked Adrian for his hospitality and soon followed after Sebastian to feed on the blood bags. Nikolai, one of Adrian's guardians approached him in the hallway once he was alone. "There's been no new news sir about the hit. We're fairly certain that Ms. Ozera is behind it or at least somehow involved."

"Have you heard about Rose?"

"Negative, she was seen at a pool party early last night but she's not been seen from since. She went to the party with Cooper but he left alone. He seemed slightly disoriented, but undeterred by the loss."

"Thank you Nikolai, when you know something else let me know. I want to know where she is as soon as she's found regardless of what time it is."

Nikolai nodded and left without a word. Finding an arm chair in which to rest Adrian pulled his cell phone from his pocket, still nothing from Rose. He should have heard from her today and with the news from Nikolai it disturbed him even more. Even if Rose had been sleeping she would have been awake at some point to have sent him a text and would have been found in her room. What Adrian had also not informed his guards of was that fact that he had failed to reach her in her dreams so Rose couldn't have been sleeping. Adrian grew increasingly anxious being apart from her. Sliding open his keypad he typed out a message for her:

_When you get this write me back – Adrian _

Adrian closed his eyes and tried to find her but with no luck, he couldn't feel her presence from this far away. After some time the Nosova's emerged from the dining room with a flush appearance on their faces. Sebastian walked alongside Adrian as he showed them upstairs. Their rooms were on the second floor of the house and were located adjoining one another, making it convenient should they need one another at any point during the day.

"If you should need anything during the day Sebastian or one of the other servants will be happy to assist you, simply call them with the bedside table by pressing 0. I hope you all have a restful sleep and I shall see you all later on this evening."

Adrian moved allowing Sebastian to lead the way. "Where will you be sleeping?" Natasha asked as she grabbed the front of Adrian's shirt, pulling him close against her body. Sebastian stopped walking and waited patiently for Adrian to continue along with him.

"I'm going to bed, but don't worry it's nowhere near your room so I wouldn't worry myself with trying to find it." Adrian replied a bit put off by her advances.

"But what if I get lonely and want to play?"

Adrian pulled her hands off of him and stepped away from her slim frame, "that's why God gave you two hands, use them well."

She looked confused, at which point Adrian excused himself again. Rose would have understood his joke and thought it was funny, or rude one, but she would have understood it.

Sebastian escorted Adrian to his room and helped him undress. "Do I really have to attend to them? You would have been appalled to see the way they treated the ladies earlier. I nearly threw up, and I'd like to think that I'd gotten a little used to the lifestyle this family leads."

"No, send Mia she likes visitors doesn't she?"

"She does indeed sir," replied Sebastian with an audible tone of relief.

"Then send her, she'll have fun. But if what you say is true, if any of them lay a hand on any of the staff tell me immediately. I will have no guest of mine eating my staff."

"Will do sir, do you need help dressing?"

Adrian shook his head, "You've all done very well today getting the house cleaned, I think I can dress myself tonight. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to the family Sebastian."

"It truly is a pleasure sir."

Sebastian left leaving Adrian alone again. Dreading the thought of hosting these people for the next few days Adrian dressed and crawled into bed. He had to see Rose tonight in her dreams, his sanity was dependent on it.

Another day and a half had gone by and still no word about Rose. The thought of something happening to her occupied his every waking minute, but his guests just wouldn't leave. "You don't fear that your daughter's involvement into the human world might make her susceptible to attack?" Adrian asked, finding himself talking about their daughter for the hundredth time that day.

"Why heaven's no! Clearly they wouldn't want to kill her she's too beautiful," replied her half intoxicated mother.

"That's an interesting theory…" Adrian replied pensively over his glass of lemon water. "I do hope you're enjoying your stay here?"

"Most definitely, we've been very well taken care of since our arrival and I do hope that I might," his wife tapped him on the shoulder, "that _we_ might have a word with you sometime this evening after dinner."

"After dinner then," he stood. "I was wondering if I might escort your daughter around the grounds, our gardener keeps a rather full hot house, she's always had a bit of a green thumb and I'm sure Ms. Natasha might enjoy them."

The light that filled Mrs. Novosa's face nearly gave her intentions away as Adrian watched the older woman nearly jump from her seat. "She would be delighted to go! You two go have some fun, there was a movie that Rupert and I were interested in watching so don't worry about coming back anytime soon. "

Adrian waited for Natasha to stand before escorting her outside of the room and onto the grounds. Natasha was pretty enough, he thought to himself and if he wasn't in love with Rose she might have been his type. There was something odd about their visit though, minus the fact that they were trying to marry their daughter off to him. He knew Natasha was in on whatever her parents were planning and he felt that if he could get anyone to tell him about it would be her. It was difficult to engage her in conversation around her parents but alone, she would be easy enough to crack.

They walked in silence till they entered the green house. "This is my mother's pride and joy besides me of course," Adrian smiled watching her expression as she took in the sight. "I would speculate that she actually liked her gardens more than he liked me."

"They're beautiful, I'm surprised no one has ever come in and done a spread in here. I think an underwear shoot would look great in here don't you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I was never one to be a voyeur. I have a question I'd like to ask you if you don't mind?" Adrian pressed his will against her and watched as her eyes began glazing over. "Why are your parents here?"

"I don't know, love."

"Don't call me love, you know better than to do that." He grabbed her and pressed her into the thorns of his mother's roses. "Tell me what you know Natasha."

She looked up at him, pleased with her eyes the best she could under his influence. "If I tell you they'll kill me."

"If you don't tell me they'll kill you anyways and not just you, but your mother and your father. It won't be pretty. Have you seen what they can do?" He asked her knowing full well that she hadn't or she'd go ahead and tell him.

"No, but it's important that you agree and agree quickly to what my parents want. It won't be bad for you. They want you to marry me that way my father can pay off his debt and we can be safe."

"I've told you before Natasha there is no we. I am already spoken for, and as for your father and his debt he should have thought about that in the first place. I understand that your family is going through a downward spiral but they should never have included my family into your mess."

"But it wasn't just you that they wanted. They wanted a Rose too? I don't know Rose, but they said once we got you that she'd come willingly. So what I was thinking and what my parents agreed was that you would just be bait, so if it's Rose that they really want, who are we to stop them from letting them have her."

"Who is the _they_ that you keep referring to?"

"I don't know really," she replied sheepishly.

He tightened his hold on her hair, pressing her palm harder into the rose thorns. "Don't be shy now Natasha you've come so far."

"But I don't know honestly. My mother does since she was the one who initiated the agreement with them."

Adrian relaxed the pressure only minimally as he continued his questioning, "Have you heard the name Tasha Ozera mentioned in any of your parents conversations?"

"A time or two why?"

"Just wondering, now when we go back in here if you so much as mentioned what has happened here before I confront your parents I will have you killed. Do you understand what I just told you?"

Tears filled her eyes as she nodded and wiped the blood off of her hand with the towel that he handed her. "If you're able to leave on your own accord you should probably get that cleaned out, they fertilize the roses with manure."

They walked back in the same silence that they had left in; only this time there was the occasional sniffle from Natasha as she tried to play the innocent victim. Her parents had ended up snooping around the house from the news that Adrian would receive later that evening from Sebastian and was happy to interrupt them by asking them into the drawing room for a before dinner drink.

"What shall we toast to?" Rupert asked as he raised his glass in the air?

Adrian smiled, "you're master plan?"

"Come again?" asked Mrs. Nosova.

"The plan where you were going to offer me as bait to the strigoi, that must have taken you ages to think up."

"But Mr. Ivashkov I don't know what you're on about?" She pleased, looking desperately at her husband.

"Just shut up mom, he knows already."

"Why you ungrateful little bitch."

"Please shut up. I'm all for a good family quarrel but I really don't feel like I have the time to mess with yours anymore."

That's when they started, begging him to marry her. It was their only chance of clearing their good name, the same broken record he'd heard earlier. Natasha Nosova sat idly by as her parents continued throwing themselves at Adrian. Adrian had finally taken all that he could. It was pathetic to watch as they threw themselves at him, a family long bereft of the past glories their name would have brought.

"You must understand the importance of our visit, we desperately desire that you wed Natasha and make her your companion in this life. It's crucial for both our families to form an alliance."

Adrian was calm outwardly, yet on the inside however his blood boiled with the anger he kept down. "I cannot and will not marry your daughter, no matter how much you threaten me with your words." Adrian went to stand to make his exit but Carolyn physically threw herself in front of him, "You don't understand our circumstances. We promised to bring you to them at any cost. If you agree to marry her we can leave before they have a chance to get here."

"And just who did you promise to bring me to?" He asked coldly.

"Some strigoi, they wanted us to lure you here for a couple days while they gathered a few things before collecting you as well. They haven't been successful in their other endeavors apparently and are on their way here, they should be here sometime tomorrow night."

"Carolyn, shut the fuck up!" shouted her husband who had been attempting to shut her up throughout the entire conversation but with no success. Adrian's guardian pulled him back into his chair, placing the cold side of his blade against his neck.

"Did my Aunt know about your plan?"

Carolyn shook her head violently, "No she had no idea. If they don't kill us, I'm sure that the queen will after putting you in such a situation."

Adrian reach into his coat pocket where he often left his pack of smokes and gripped the small handgun he'd replaced the small box with earlier that evening. "You'll have to excuse my manners," he replied as he let out six rounds, two for each guest placed quickly in their foreheads, "when I say I have no intentions of going anywhere with you, or allowing you to leave here without some form of repercussion for your actions."

Adrian's guardian walked over to him and pulled on his arm to take the hand gun away from him. Motioning to the other guardian who entered the room he instructed him to take care of the bodies and to finish them off before anyone noticed they were missing. "I need out of here don't I?" Adrian asked casually, still shocked over what he'd done. Sebastian who had been in the room with him the entire time quickly helped Adrian gather his things before alerting the staff that it was time to leave the family manner in search for a safe house.

"I've already got a car waiting outside, and I called the pilot for the private jet that the family lawyer was using that we couldn't get for the ride over gassed and ready on the landing strip. While you were finishing up here I had your stuff packed it should all be in the car."

Adrian chuckled, "You've out done yourself." He could feel the excitement of a long awaited kill on the air but he had no intentions to die any time soon so he'd have to leave it as it were. "Have we heard anything from Rose?"

"No sir, there has been no new communication. It also appears that she has not been seen out while Cooper has for the last 36 hours. Nikolai said that Cooper looked upset but was trying to come across confident as he was the night of the party. Christian Ozera has been missing as well. His guardian hasn't been able to pinpoint his location and Ms. Ozera seems rather upset about it all and has practically blamed the Queen for his disappearance. There was no video surveillance of either leaving the grounds so it's been assumed that they are both on the grounds somewhere, but not all shared this same belief."

"I see…" Adrian was puzzled over Rose's whereabouts. He had told her not to do anything stupid.

"Have you still been unsuccessful in reaching her? You know through your," Gregory asked as he tapped both sides of his temple.

"No, which only makes the situation more difficult."

"Why do you think you haven't been able to reach her?"

Adrian sighed, "Well I know she's not dead, because I can feel her still. Other than that she's either not sleeping or she's sleeping too restlessly for me to enter her dreams. I can't enter all stages of sleep just the deeper stages where dreaming occurs."

Once they were safely at the jet, Adrian's guardians checked the plane for any unwanted stowaways. Once the all clear was given they quickly boarded and was once against once his way home. He took his usual seat beside the mini bar but refrained from the automatic motion of making himself a drink. As he sat across from Gregory and Nikolai, waiting for the pilots to take off Adrian couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't have left Rose. "You know I worry about her more than I should." Adrian mused over his nearly empty pack of cigarettes.

"It just shows that you love her sir," Nikolai replied.

"But look at what I've done to her. She's in so much trouble because of me."

"Don't say that. If what you've told us is true, she's done a good job of getting herself into trouble without your help. Tasha Ozera would have gone after her anyways for "cock-blocking" her as you so eloquently described it."

"Maybe if I'd just got to her first, before Dimitri, she wouldn't be in such a mess and we'd be further along in this cat and mouse game?"

* * *

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I'M A PIECE OF MEAT DICKHEAD!"

"Well it's not my fault you locked us in here and didn't have a plan on how to feed me! That's poor planning on your part guardian!"Christian barked back.

Rose sat across the room glaring at him, "yeah yeah I know. Blame it all on me because it's my fault. I'm the one that's going to get everyone killed, me me me. Blah blah blah. Can't we watch something and take your mind off of it?"

"We can try but it didn't work so well last time." Christian huffed as he stood up and got the remote from the coffee table. Sitting back down, he turned on some television show. There were teenagers, or really adult actors paid to look like teenagers singing and dancing all over the screen, as if it were normal to burst out in song on any given day. "How long have we been in here anyways?" he asked as she watched him mouth along with the words from the television show.

"I'm not sure, you'd have to check one of the news stations for the date. I mean I guess it's been longer than a couple days, I feel like it's been three-ish. Can't you tell with your super human powers Batman?"

"I told you that in confidence!"

Rose couldn't help but laugh, "It's not my fault Bruce. It's the power of the force it just comes out automatically."

"Whatever, I bet you wanted to be cat woman or something? Or maybe you liked to pretend being Lois Lane so Superman came swooping down to save you."

"Only in like your wildest wet dreams would I ever be cat woman. I don't wear that much leather at a time, it's not appealing on anyone outside of comic books. I feel like full body leather outfits like that are nothing more than giant leather condoms."

"Are you implying something?" Christian asked, changing the tone of the conversation within an instant.

"Oh my God no! Stop being a pervert," she threw back at him. It was hard being locked up with Christian for so long, and expect him to behave himself when she knew what his feelings were for her. Rose was upset that Christian hadn't come home yet and she worried relentlessly that there was something hindering him coming back to her.

"I can't help myself," Christian pleaded.

"So I've been told."

"But no really Rose, I've got to eat sometime. Isn't there a way we could sneak out and get something quick? I mean we snuck in here, I'm sure that they aren't watching this place 24/7 or you for that matter."

"I can't take any chances of being caught Christian. We're safe here and that is what's most important. Can you really not wait any longer?"

He thought about it for a while, "I could but it'd be at your own risk. If I drank a little now, I'd be ok for a while. I wouldn't need much, and then I wouldn't be down your neck so much."

"How much is a little bit?" Rose asked curiously.

"Like a meal, so like a pint or maybe just half a pint?"


End file.
